Sasha and the Frogs
by ScrabbleReader
Summary: Being transported to another world filled with talking frog people might be the weirdest thing Sasha ever experienced, but at least she's got the Plantars to help her out. (A What If? AU story, featuring Sasha switching places with Anne.)
1. Sasha or Beast?

Now, if there was anything she'd regret, now would be a good time to think about it.

Okay, so she may have not been the best student in school and she was pretty sure a lot of people didn't actually like her. She didn't know why, but she didn't care. So long as she had her two besties by her side, she knew she could take on the world.

She just didn't expect to be sent into a completely different one.

"How long have I been here?" Sasha asked herself. It was hard to tell how many days it's been since she got sent into this jungle. She lost her phone and also lost her own bag, though for some odd reason got Anne's bag instead. So legally, she was empty-handed, with nothing more than the clothes on her back. She already checked Anne's belongings and she was not surprised that nothing in it was helpful for wilderness survival.

"I knew I should've gone on that summer camp." Sasha mused in regret. When she was a kid, she remembered Anne telling her about a summer camp out in the wilderness. But Sasha was not a fan of bugs and frogs and other icky things. Sure, she was willing to get down and dirty if it came to it but that didn't mean she'd enjoy it. Thus, she stayed with her uncle at his ranch instead that year. Now though, she realized those skills she could've learned would come very handy at the moment.

"Well, it can't be that bad, right? All I have to do is find some food and I'm golden. Yeah, that's right!" She spoke out loud to no one in particular. Pretty sure the forest was starting to get to her.

Unfortunately for her, that shout was a bit loud and the critters in the forest have a good sense of hearing. Just as she raised her arms in cheer, a giant centipede had found her. And oh boy, was it hungry.

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH—"

Sometime later, One-Eyed Wally was walking down a dark and beaten path within the woods. He didn't live in the town of Wartwood so this path was common to him, even in the bleak darkness of night. He had decided to eat out for dinner that day at Stumpy's old diner, feeling a bit more jovial than usual.

"Dobedido, dobedida, I sure hope nothing comes out from these thick bushes and eat me alive~! Haha~!" Wally sang cheerfully, though the contents seem less so, as he pranced along the path. Minding his own business, he suddenly heard a rustling noise from off the road. "W-who's there?!" He asked in fear.

The forest responded with the rustling of leaves and skittering noise around him. A twig snapped in front him, causing him to turn towards it immediately. "I-I'm warning you! I know Frog-Fu! Well, some of it and I did fail the class but I know some!"

While he was looking off in that particular direction, unbeknownst to him, a dark and threatening figure emerged from behind, gradually growing till it was twice as tall as him. Wally felt a presence and slowly turned to watch as the large figure enveloped him in its shadow.

"N-no! Stay back!" Wally walked backwards, tripping and fell on his butt. The figure, however, did not stop moving. "NoooOOOOO—!"

* * *

The very next day, the town of Wartwood was going through its usual morning. Toads selling bug meat, frogs selling their farmed goods and the occasional kidnapping of random couples by giant dragonflies. So overall, it was a peaceful way to start the day.

Hopadiah Plantar, aka "Hop Pop", strolled into town from his little homestead on a cart, pulled by the Plantar family's one and only snail Bessie. Inside that, two younglings hopped around in excitement. With a whip of his leash, Bessie slowed down and with her, the wooden cart. "Woah there, Bessie! Hehe, chipper today, aren't cha?"

Hop Pop turned around to face the two kids sitting in the cart, an energetic young frog named Sprig Plantar and his younger sister, the polliwog Polly Plantar. "Alright you two, I'll be back with the groceries in a few minutes. You watch the cart until I come back. Don't get into trouble, ya hear?"

"You got it, Hop Pop!" Sprig replied enthusiastically. "I'll defend this cart _with my life._"

Hop Pop stared at Sprig. "Uh-huh... Polly, make sure Sprig doesn't get into trouble."

"Roger, Hop Pop!" Polly answered, to which Sprig exclaimed in surprise, "What?! But Hop Pop! I'm the older brother!"

"We both know you have less responsibility than Polly has in her little flipper."

"Ridiculous!" Sprig objected. "What makes you think I'm irresponsible?!"

"Oh gee, let me think." Hop Pop said, sarcasm dripping from his words. "Was it the time you added exploding cherry seeds into the gumbo? Or maybe the time you wrestled a worm cow into my bedroom? Oh, I know! Maybe it's time you left the lights on, and nearly got the house torn down by a pair of fireflies?!"

"Okay, so yesterday was a bad day but I can be responsible!"

"Hm hmm, I'll believe that when I see it. Until then," Hop Pop jumped off the cart, "Polly, make sure Sprig stays in the cart." He then walked into the store and greeted the proprietor of the establishment.

Sprig sighed sadly. "Wish there was a way to prove I'm not such a goof-up..."

As if the frog gods had been listening to that day, his pleas were answered. Wally's scream was heard from the thick groves and as expected, the one-eyed frog burst out of the bushes and into the clearing, screaming for dear life.

"MONSTER!" Wally cried out." THERE'S A MONSTER IN THE WOODS! I SEEN IT! I SEEN IT!"

As Wally continued his panicked spiel, a crowd slowly formed around him, listening to his every word. Loud murmurs were heard and exchanged between the townsfolk, forcing the town's mayor to intervene. "Now now, simmer down, Wally. Just tell us what you saw."

Wally explained the monster's features using any nearby twigs, roots and leaves. Just as he finished describing it, emphasizing on its weird face bump, the crowd gasped in fear and surprise. The mayor, listening fully, took the initiative and spoke up. "Well then, we better catch this beast before it hurts somebody. Because _for Mayor Toadstool, your safety comes first._"

Everyone clapped their little froggy hands at the political response, with Wally even saying how responsible that would be. Of course, everyone also agreed. This was a huge and scary monster in the woods after all. What shouldn't they do? Leave it alone to act on its natural base instincts? That would be very irresponsible.

Which is why Sprig wanted in on it.

"Polly, I know what I'm gonna do today. I am going to catch that beast and save the town!" He exclaimed out loud. Just as he was about to leave the cart to go on a suicidal quest, Polly stopped him in his tracks. "Stop right there! Hop Pop said you have to stay in the cart!"

Polly flexed her tiny flipper muscles. "_You know you can't take me._"

Sprig, in response, dug into the pockets of his shirt and pulled out some frog-based candies. "Oo oo, look Polly! Candy...! Pfft!"

He dropped it onto the cart and watched as Polly enthusiastically accepted his little bribe. With one move, he jumped out of the cart and ran straight to deep woods, ignoring Polly's warnings, "If you die, I get to keep your stuff!".

Sprig hopped around the woods as if it was his own backyard. He easily navigated through, looking for clues of the beast's whereabouts. Spotting something on the ground, he jumped off the branches and landed on the dirt, finding himself looking at a weird and unidentified footprint in the shape of a fat pickle. "Seems like the beast roams these parts... Probably a good place to start looki—!"

Suddenly, he was grappled from behind by large figure, who with the element of surprise, smashed his entire body onto the ground. "Gotcha!" It cried out. Sprig, completely shocked, did the first thing that came in his froggy little mind; He screamed.

"WAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH—!" He was quickly silenced by a hand on his mouth. "Quiet! You'll attract it to us!"

"Atrackd whad?" Sprig asked, his voice muffled by the hand.

While there is no definite proof that the law of equivalent exchange applied to fate and jinks, it kinda seemed like it at the moment. By giving Sprig the opportunity to prove himself, the frog gods had also sent trials along the way in the form of a red giant man-eating mantis, looking at the two dead in the eye.

"SCREEEEEEEEEEHHH—!" The mantis screeched.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH—!" The beast screamed.

"MMMMMMMMMM—!" Sprig muffledly yelled.

Letting go, the beast and the frog ran off in the opposite direction, away from the humongous mantis that was currently slicing off entire stalks in pursuit. Sprig, with his superior understanding of the forest area, searched for a way out and found a decrepit log with a hole large enough for him to slide into and hide. He pointed and shouted, "QUICK, IN THERE!"

Sprig dove into the hole, followed by the beast that captured him, and the two quickly put their backs against the log. The mantis looked around through the holes, searching for its prey. When it was sure it couldn't see them, it turned and walked away, looking for some other prey to dive its sharp insectoid mandibles in.

Finally calm, Sprig wiped the sweat from his forehead and sighed. "Phooey, that sure was close, wasn't it? Hahahaha... WAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH—!"

Sprig continued his initial scream before the beast, once more, placed its hand onto his mouth. "Will you stop that?! It's going to come back!"

"BUT YOU'RE GOING TO EAT ME!" Sprig cried after moving the beast's hand off.

Said beast blinked, twice. "Uh eww, no. I don't eat frogs, especially not talking walking ones."

"Huh. I've never met a beast that's so picky with food."

"Okay, I'm just gonna stop you there." The beast said, followed by clearing its throat. "Hrm, my name is Sasha. I'm not some beast, I'm a _human_."

"Hooman?"

"No, human."

"Hue-mand?"

"Huuuuuu—!" She emphasized. "Maaaannn!"

Sprig smiled. "I have no idea what that is."

"Urgh, you know what? Mmmgghh!" Sasha screamed into her hands. "Let's try this again. The name's Sasha."

"Oh, I'm Sprig! Nice to meet 'cha, Sasha!" Sprig examined his new friend, the not-a-beast hooman. "I gotta say, I've never seen anyone like you before in Wartwood!"

"Wartwood?" Sasha asked. "Is that the name of this place?"

Sprig shook his head. "Nah, Wartwood' s the town I live at. Hey, I gotta ask—"

Just as Sprig was about to ask Sasha a question, a loud grumbling came from the female of the duo. Looking down, the two found themselves staring at Sasha's rumbling stomach, pleading for sustenance. Sasha blushed, embarrassed by the sound.

"Uh, do you like know a fast food joint nearby?"

* * *

Meanwhile back in Wartwood, Hop Pop returned to the cart, grocery supplies on hand. On his way, he noticed a sizeable mob at the edge of town. Said mob were wielding pitchforks and torches, and were yelling about a monster in the woods. In short; an average week.

"Another week, another mob. Hehehe..." Hop Pop laughed by himself as he loaded the supplies into the back of the cart. He then climbed up to the driver's seat, shuffling and getting comfortable.

"Alright, kids. Time to head back. I hope nothing interesting happened while I was gone, hehehe..." Hop Pop said sarcastically as he turned to look at his grandkids. Or in this case, grandkid. The sound of shattered glass erupted from Hop Pop's bulging eyes when he realized that 1. Sprig was not in the cart and 2. Polly was covered in candy, looking horrible.

"Uuuu, my stomach..." Polly belched. Hop Pop frantically jumped to the back of the cart and grabbed Polly's weakened tadpole body. "Polly, where's Sprig?!"

"Uuuu..." was all Polly could reply, her eyes bleary and drool escaped from her mouth. Suddenly, Hop Pop remembered about the monster in the woods and using his old deduction skills, he figured it out; Sprig ran into the woods to catch the beast irresponsibly.

"SPRIIIG! I'MMA COMING!" Hop Pop yelled as he ran through the mob and into the woods. The mob watched as he disappeared into the bushes with Polly, and in a moment of pure genius, Wally also screamed. "LET'S GO GET THAT BEAST!"

Everyone cheered and ran into the woods, following Hop Pop like the mob they were.

* * *

Meanwhile back to Sasha and Sprig, the latter had collected an assortment of bugs, mushrooms and roots into a bucket, and dumped them all out onto the ground. "Here you go! I don't really know what hoomans eat, so I got everything."

Sasha watched as a green beetle scurried around the mess and flew off before wiggling its antennas. Sasha gulped, "Yeah, we don't eat bugs from where I'm from." She picked up a root-like plant and took a careful bite, before smiling. "Mmm, hey this is not half bad."

"Mh mmm." Sprig sounded knowingly. "So first question, WHERE DID YOU COME FROM?! I've never seen a hooman before!"

"Well, I've never seen a talking frog before." Sasha remarked. "I guess you could say I came from another world or something."

"Either that or I'm dead and this is hell." Sasha added.

"Woooowww~" Sprig awed. "Do you know how you got here?"

Sasha shrugged. "Nope. One minute I was in my world and the next, I was here. I don't know how to get home, or if I can get home. And my friends! I don't know where there are!"

"Friends? You mean other hoomans like you?" Sprig asked.

"Yeah. See here?" Sasha pulled out a photo. "These are my BFFs. The one on the left is Anne, and the other one is Marcy. We've been friends since we were kids."

Sprig took the photo and looked closer. "Woah... So you think they're here too?"

"Well, they were next to me when I got sent here, so it's a safe bet. Plus, I got Anne's bag with me." Sasha answered, pointing at the backpack next to her. "Enough about me, what about you? What were you doing in the woods?"

"Proving that I'm responsible!"

"Oh yeah? How?"

Sprig blinked. "Uhhhhhhhhhhhhh—"

Before Sprig could process an answer, Wally the One-Eyed frog appeared from the bushes and yelled, "THERE THEY ARE!"

"Wha—?!" was all Sasha could squeeze out before the mob jumped on her, wrapping her tightly behind layers of rope. Sasha futilely tried to break free but the rope work was too good. Also, she was like 13 years old and didn't have the muscle mass to even strain it.

Sprig, no longer stunned, jumped in. "Wait, no! You guys got it all wrong! Sasha is—!"

"A monster!" Mayor Toadstool interrupted. "And this little boy here led her right to us! A proud citizen of Wartwood, led by me, Mayor Toadstool."

"That's not what I was going to say! Guys, just listen—!" Once more, Sprig was interrupted. Though this time by his own Hop Pop. "SPRIG! THANK GOODNESS YOU'RE SAFE!"

Hop Pop looked at Sasha aka the 'beast' as she continued to try and break free. "Sprig, get back! I don't want you to get close to it!"

Sasha turned to Sprig, feeling betrayed. "Sprig, what the heck?! You set me up?! We were having a thing, man! A THING!"

"Nononono!" Sprig denied fervently. "This wasn't my plan—!"

Before he could finish, he was interrupted the third time today by a giant green mantis of all things. The mantis proceeded to screech, scaring the mob in surprise. "QUICK EVERYONE! MANTIS FORMATION!" Mayor Toadstool quickly yelled, causing the townsfolk to break out of their surprise and climbed on top of one another, forming a pyramid of amphibians alike, taller than the mantis itself.

The mantis looked at the frogs (and toad) and moved back, feeling intimidated by the form. All of the mob cheered, only to be interrupted, not Sprig this time, by an even larger red man-eating mantis.

Polly, finally out of her fever dream, widened her little eyes in shock. "How did I get here? And what is that thing?!"

"That there, Polly, is a giant frog-eating mantis." Hop Pop answered. Wally then got involved and added, "And it's gonna EAT OUR GUTS!", causing the mob to break apart and ran off in random directions.

Sasha, being so close to the large insectoid and currently tied up, screamed. "WAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Feeling her restraints loosen, she looked front and saw Sprig untying her ropes. "Sprig?! Is this another of your froggy tricks?!"

Sprig, however, paid no mind to Sasha's accusation. Finishing up, he stood up and took out his old slingshot from his pocket. "I'll distract that thing. You get out of here!" With said final words, he ran off towards the mantis with a war cry strong enough to scare an army. Though the mantis was about the worth of two, so it wasn't even phased.

Sprig launched a rock into the mantis' eye, flinching it. "Aha!... Oops."

The mantis retaliated with a swing of its forelegs at Sprig, too shocked to dodge. Suddenly, he felt a rope tighten around him and he was pulled out of the way, mere inches from being cut in half. With an oof, he landed a few feet behind from where he stood and the rope, revealed to be a makeshift lasso, loosened up with Sasha stading next to him, the other end in hand.

"Are you CRAZY?!" Sasha yelled at Sprig, causing him to flinch. Nonetheless, the boy frog answered with full confidence, "I got you in this mess, so I gotta get you out!"

"Uh oh, noooo waaay!" Sasha argued. "You already saved my life once, and I am not letting you do it the second time!"

"Come on," Sasha tightened her grip. "Let's teach this bug a lesson."

Sash ran towards it, also with a warcry, and threw the lasso onto one of its claws and slid underneath through. At the other side, Sasha threw her end of the rope towards the little frog boy. "SPRIG!"

Sprig noticed the rope end flying at his direction and leapt off to catch it, avoiding another attack by the mantis. With his end of the rope, he hopped all around, over and under the mantis, dodging every attack by the skin of his teeth and slowly but steadily wrapped the mantis with the same rope used to tie up Sasha just a minute ago.

Once done, he hopped back onto the ground and pulled hard but found himself lacking the strength to do so. The mantis struggled to get free and Sasha, thinking quickly, sprinted towards him and grabbed a part of his rope. "Let's do this!"

"And... PULL!" Sasha ordered, pulling alongside Sprig. The rope tightened and in turn, the mantis' limbs are pulled closer and closer until its balance shifted. With the screech, the mantis fell down to its side with a loud thump. The ground quaked underneath its weight for second and suddenly, everything got quiet.

The townsfolk that ran off, turned to see the mantis, out cold and unable to move at all. Realization washed over them quickly and Mayor Toadstool cheered, "They did it! It's down!", followed by everyone else.

"We did it!" Sprig exclaimed triumphantly. Sasha smiled at the scene and lifted her hand, "Yeah, we totally did it. Up top."

Sprig responded with his tongue, covering Sasha's hand with frog saliva. Grossed out, she flicked her hand around in a futile attempt to remove the sticky fluid from her palm. "Oh, should've seen that coming..."

Mayor Toadstool, now sure of his safety, walked up towards the duo with a crowd behind him. "Well, now that's settled, what the heck we gonna do with this thing? Maybe we oughta run it out of town. Just to be safe."

"Let it be someone else's problem." He muttered. The crowd, now once again an angry mob, pulled out their pitchforks and torches and charged towards Sasha. She stepped back, no sure exactly how to defuse the situation. "Now wait a minute, maybe we can talk about this!"

Immediately after, Sprig barged in between the mob and Sasha, stopping the former dead on their tracks. "Stop right there!" He shouted. "She's not a monster. Sure she's weird and creepy-looking but she's just lost. She needs our help."

Sasha looked at Sprig, a little frog boy whom she just met about less than an hour ago and yet was willing to stand up for her. A smile crept unknowingly onto her face, as she felt something she can't quite describe. But a word for it definitely exists; Gratefulness.

Of course, the moment was ruined instantly after when Mayor Toadstool objected. "Are you crazy?!"

"Yeah, what if it goes nutty tomorrow and starts eating people?" Wally added. Sasha rolled her eyes, "Yeah, no way."

Despite her assurances, some murmurs were heard from the back regarding that possible risk. However, Hop Pop stood forward, causing them all to quiet down. He voiced out, "Don't worry yourself silly. I'll keep an eye on 'em. Both of them."

Mayor Toadstool took his time and thought it through. While he would have preferred to run her out of town, Hop Pop did live far away enough from Wartwood that when this 'Sasha' does go crazy, at least he'd have enough time to hide all his embezzlements and run away for a bit.

"Alright, suit yourself, Hopadiah Plantar. But I don't like one bit. If she eats one of us, it's on you."

"Yeah, still not gonna do that."

Mayor Toadstool ignored her remark. "Alright folks, pack it up. Let's go have ourselves a celebration!" The folks cheered in delight and thus, the day ended with no further crazy accidents. One of them pulled the mantis Sasha and Sprig took down back to town, where it would be Wartwood's special dish for tonight.

Once all that was out the way, Polly took the opportunity to speak up. "So... Now what?"

* * *

After listening to Sasha's woes and Hop Pop giving Sprig a speech about responsibility and whatnot, she was invited to live with the Plantars back at their cosy little homestead. Not wanting to stay in the woods any longer than she could, she, of course, accepted immediately. Fortunately for her, their basement was spacious enough that she can stay there for the time being. It wasn't ideal but at this point, she was willing to take what she can get.

"Alrighty, the kitchen's upstairs. Breakfast in on sunrise, sharp. Since you're living here now, might as well help out with the farm a bit."

"Oh alright, cool. I can do farm work. Thanks, old man." Sasha said, watching Hop Pop leave the underground room. She inspected her new 'room' for a bit; A few boxes here and there, a furnace for heating, some stray pipes and for some odd reason, the lights here are controlled via mushrooms. "I guess it's not that different from home, huh?"

She placed her sleeping mat on the floor, somewhere not damp. A knock came from behind and turning around, she saw Sprig came in with a bunch of old plushies at hand. "Hey there, getting comfy? Brought some toys to keep you company. They're not your friends but hey, they're super adorable."

Sasha smiled. "Thanks, dude."

"Yeah, I'm too old for them anyway... Well, except for this one, and maybe also this one..." Sprig continued, taking back every single toy he brought here with him. With all toys in his arms, Sprig grinned. "Hey, Sasha? I'm glad you're staying with us. We don't have much but you can always count on us Plantars, even if you're a creepy hooman."

"Hah, me too. Glad to be here as well, weird little frog boy."

"Well," Sprig climbed the ladder. "Goodnight!" He finished, accidentally dropping one of his toys as he left.

Sasha strolled front and picked up the dropped toy, squeezing it lightly. "Heh, cute.", she muttered before walking back to her still-rolled up sleeping mat and took a seat. Sure that no one was watching, she zipped open Anne bag and from it, pulled out a weird bejewelled chest wrapped in some cloth. With one hand on the bottom and another on top, Sasha slowly opened the box, expecting some flashing lights and interdimensional magic...

But nothing. Nothing happened. She sighed, disappointed. "Well, it was too much to ask, huh?"

Unrolling the mat, she packed the chest back into Anne's bag and placed it next to her. Lying down, the room naturally turned dark with a tap of a mushroom, leaving only the moonlight to illuminate the area. Sasha held her photo above her and with a sad sigh, turned to sleep.

"I'll find you guys. I promise." Sasha said, closing her eyes for the night.


	2. BFFs Across The Worlds

"You know, when I agreed to help you do farm work, I didn't mean it like this."

"Quit complaining. Now hoe that ground, slave!"

"What did you say?"

"Uh, nothing."

Sasha glared at the tadpole in question, Polly if she remembered. Now that she thought about it, she was in another world. So did this world have slaves? Is she a slave? Well, she did look like one at the moment but it wasn't like she couldn't leave or anything. It was just that the wilderness was far worse.

"I don't mind the work and all but why do I have to wear this?", Sasha asked, pointing at the vest she was currently wearing. Said attire was also tied to a rope whose end was connected to a nearby fence pole. She was pretty sure this was a leash for little children.

She was not a child. She's 13 which for all accounts, technically a teenager.

Hop Pop walked by, a hoe in his groggy hands. "The vest is for your own safety, girl."

"My safety?" Sasha sarcastically said. "What, am I going to run off and get myself killed?"

"Okay, maybe not entirely your own safety. Folks around here can be paranoid about newcomers. Wh—" The older frog paused, glaring at a friendly passerby that greeted him. Once out of view, Hop Pop continued, "Who knows how'll people act when you're untethered! It could be chaos!"

"But a baby leash? Really?" Sasha asked incredulously, pulling the rope to prove her point. In response, Hop Pop only shook his head. "No buts. Everyone's still trying to get used to it, me included! You could at least try to follow it for a bit."

Sasha groaned. "Urgh, fiiiineee…"

Hop Pop grinned at the answer. "Now that's more I like it! Come on, we still got a few rows of turnips left to sow before daylight's over!"

Sasha grabbed her hoe and complained no further.

* * *

Once the farm work was over, the Plantars (plus Sasha) head on back to the house for dinner. While Hop Pop proceeded to cook dinner, Sasha was ordered to stay in her basement-slash-room till she was called up, leaving the tween a bit miffed. Sprig on the other froggy hand, decided to come with Sasha.

"I can't believe I'm not even allowed to sit in the living room! Like, what's his problem?!" Sasha complained, with Sprig being the sole listener. The two were playing a board game reminiscent of Snakes and Ladders, which was called Toads and Towers for some reason. Sprig threw his dice, managing to land his piece on a tower and climbed up.

"Don't worry about Hop Pop. He's just worried about us, that's all." Sprig exclaimed as he moved his piece in a pitter-patter fashion. Sasha, however, was not pleased with the explanation. She grabbed the dice and threw it on the board. "Worried about what? It's not like I'm going to eat you guys or anything."

"Hop Pop's older than us. So he's got like mad old frog wisdom. Even I don't know what's going on in his head."

Sasha picked up her piece and moved it forward. "Pssh, I bet all that's going on in his head are prunes and apple cider."

Landing her piece just before a toad, she looked outside at the bright moon. "Say, what do you guys do here for fun anyway?"

"You mean Toads and Towers isn't fun?" Sprig asked as he shook the dice in his hands.

"I mean, yeah it's cool but it's just not fun fun."

"I don't get it." Sprig moved his piece, only to land on a toad, pushing his downwards. "Darnit!"

"You know! Like, baseball or going to the arcade! Heck, even going to the beach would be better than this." Sasha took the dice for her turn. Throwing it, it moved her a few steps forward, dodging the toad entirely.

"Well, we don't have a beach here but there is a lake nearby. A lot of folks used to go there."

"A lake, huh?" Sasha contemplated on an idea. Though before she could fully thought it through, the two heard Hop Pop calling them from the kitchen. "Come on up, kids! Soup's on!"

"After dinner, then." Sasha said to herself out loud. Sprig raised an eyebrow in response. "Huh?"

"Don't worry about it, dude."

Later that night after dinner, Sasha planned out her ideas for the next day. If there was one thing she was proud of, it was that she was very good at reading people. Sure, frog people might be new territory for her but people are still people, even if they weren't human.

And they were all so predictable.

* * *

"Alright, Sprig. You ready?"

"Ready for what?"

"Ready for the lake, duh." Sasha answered, making it sound as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. While planning yesterday, she realized that she didn't have a swimsuit herself and she was not going to go around naked in public. Thankfully, Anne had packed a spare swimsuit in her bag for some odd reason and they fit her like a glove.

Anne sure has a lot of stuff in her bag. Nothing for wilderness survival but there were magazines, spare clothes, a bike pump for some reason, and a whole bunch of body care products which Sasha was eternally grateful for.

Sprig looked at her unsurely. "I don't know, Sasha. Hop Pop told us it wasn't a good idea."

"Pssh, it'll be fine." Sasha dismissed his worries. "Come on, do you really want to be cooped up in here all day?"

"Well, no… But—"

"Up pup pup, no buts! Hop Pop said so." Using Hop Pop's words yesterday to her advantage in a different context. How devious of Sasha.

"Yeah, you're right! Let's go to the lake!" Sprig yelled in agreement. The two stormed towards the front door, cheering "LAKE! LAKE! LAKE!" over and over, until they were forcibly halted by Hopadiah Plantar himself.

"And where do you two think yer going?!" Hop Pop questioned. Sasha shrugged her shoulders, "To the lake for some nice outdoor fun."

Hop Pop, however, was not okay with that as an answer. "Oh noo, no way! I told you yesterday that you're not allowed to leave the house. There'd be chaos and the end of the world as we know it!"

Sprig got confused. "Isn't that a bit dramatic, Hop Pop?"

"NO!"

Sasha didn't care though. If the world was going to end because of a lakeshore visit, then it was a pretty cruddy world anyway. Plus, it wasn't her world so why should she care? Therefore, Sasha rolled her eyes and walked to the front door regardless, forcing the older frog to physically hop in front of her.

"No means no, Sasha!"

"Urgh, you can't expect me to stay in the house all day?! I'm a growing girl! I need to stretch these legs!" Sasha protested, showing off her slightly toned legs. She might not be crazy athletic as Anne but she was still part of the cheerleading squad.

"That's exactly what I'm expecting you to do! Until the townsfolk here aren't scared of ya AND I say so," Hop turned to lock the door with a special wooden key. "You ain't leaving this house without my permission!"

"Oh, COME. ON!" "Hop Pop, why?!"

Hopadiah Plantar walked away from the angry human girl and towards his study room. He didn't expect to start the day with such a foul mood and so needed to cool off for a bit. "If you two need me, I'll be in my study. Until then, don't leave the house, Sasha." Hop Pop warned before closing the door, albeit a bit too aggressively.

Sprig stared at the study and sighed. "I guess your plan was ruined… Hey, wanna play Toads and Towers again?" He asked Sasha.

Looking closer, he noticed that Sasha was not phased at all. In fact, it looked like she was smirking. With a whip of her hair, she turned to Sprig. "Yeah, sure. We got about half an hour anyway."

"Huh? What happens in 30 minutes?" Sprig asked.

Sasha smiled slightly. "Oh, you'll see."

About 30 minutes, and one and a half game of Toads and Towers later, the mischievous duo pushed the door to the study open, causing a light creaking noise from its hinges. They peeked their heads through the gap to see Hop Pop, reading a book about acting or something. He was completely focused and unblinking, just as planned.

"Alright Sprig, I need you to get in there and take the key from the old man's pocket." Sasha said quietly, pushing Sprig forward. Sprig though was reluctant. "I don't know… Isn't this stealing?"

"It's not stealing if we return it." Sasha assured him. "Besides, we'll be back before he even knows it."

"Still seems kinda wrong… Come on, Sasha. Let's just go back and finish our game of Toads and Towers. I'll show you my action figure collection later!"

Sasha looked at her little froggy friend in the eyes. "Sprig, if we don't get that key now, we'll never have another chance at this."

"But—!"

"And I'll be stuck in this house till the end of time. Do you want that, Sprig? Do you really want your human friend to be a prisoner in your own home?"

"Well, no… Still—!"

"And we both know the townsfolk will never trust me if I just stay indoors all day. I am literally in prison, Sprig. You're the jailer and only you get to use the key."

"Sounds a bit harsh—"

"You either get that key and we have a great time at the lake, or you get to be my jailer. And from what I know, jailers and prisoners aren't friends."

Sprig couldn't even retort. He only lifted a finger before Sasha continued.

"End. Of. Discussion." Sasha ended it harshly, promptly pushing Sprig towards Hop Pop. Nervously, he tiptoed his way forward, sweating bullets. Every creak in the floor made his heart jump, forcing him to move as quickly as possible lest he'd suffer from a child-size heart attack.

Finally reaching the jacket, he pinched the key with his two sticky fingers and slowly fished it out of the pocket. "Gently, gently…" He whispered to himself.

And in an instant, the key plopped out of the pocket and fully into Sprig's hands. He beamed, "I DID IT!"

"SSHHHHHH!" Sasha shushed from the safety of the other room, causing the little frog boy to immediately slam his mouth shut with his hands. The two stood still and unmoving, waiting for any reaction from Hop Pop. After a few seconds had passed, they sighed simultaneously, followed by Sprig tiptoeing back more frantic than before. Once outside of the study, Sasha closed the door behind Sprig.

"We got the key!" Sprig cheered. Sasha too smiled back. "Yeah, we did. I had full faith in you."

"Really?"

"Yeah, sure, whatevs. Now come on," Sasha picked up her (Anne's) bag. "To the lake!"

"To the lake!"

* * *

Okay, so the lake was a bit farther than she thought it was. They've been walking for like half an hour and only then did the forest start to clear a bit. It'd be nice if she had her bike with her, then going there would've been a breeze.

Before they left, Sprig decided to pack with him some pain peppers, apparently said to be so hot that you'd wish you were dead. He offered Sasha one but she decided against it, seeing that Sprig was literally breathing fire and rolling on the floor beforehand. Still, there was no harm with bringing some with them anyway, even though Sasha would rather die than taste one. Sprig did cheer at that notion, saying "That's the spirit!" like it was normal.

"You know Sprig, I never really asked you this but where are your other froggy friends?" Sasha asked curiously.

"Huh, what do you mean?"

"I mean, I've never seen you with other frogs before. What gives?"

"Well, I don't really have much… friends…" Sasha laughed at the answer, only to see Sprig wasn't laughing with her. "Wait, you're serious?"

"Yeah, well I did try to make some friends before but I kinda scared them off. They just don't get me, I guess."

"Don't get you, huh?" Sasha looked at Sprig and smiled. "Yeah, I get what you mean. You know, I don't have many friends either."

Sprig, surprised, turned to Sasha. "Wait, really? What about your BFFs? Anne and Marco?"

"Marcy." Sasha corrected. "But yeah, they're kinda the only friends I have that I truly trust. Sure, I know a bunch of other kids my age but… I never got close to them."

Sasha contemplated on her own words. She knew so many people back home and she was pretty sure everyone in school knew who she was too. The cheerleading squad, the chess club, even the school's swimming team. Even so, she never truly got to know them. Anne and Marcy though? She knew the two of them like the back of her hand.

Anne was a sports freak and among the three of them, even Sasha had to admit she'd lose in athleticism against Anne. But she's just so competitive! It's why she doesn't join any team sports; she'd just fight with her own team. Marcy though, Sasha knew she was super lazy and wouldn't budge an inch unless she's got something in the end. And yet, she's the smartest girl she knew and always knows how to find all the cool and weird stuff, online or offline. It was how they found that weird magic chest in the first place.

Sasha knew she was great but without these two, she's pretty sure she'd never got this far. She depended on them, just like how they depended on her and each other. They were a team, always.

Though now, they aren't here and she didn't even know where to start looking.

"Well, I can be your friend." Sprig suggested.

"Huh?"

"I mean, you have no friends here with you, so I can fill the role as your BFF!" Sasha stared at Sprig's notion for a second, and snorted. "What? It's a good idea!"

"Hahaha… Sprig, I'm pretty sure you're no Anne or Marcy."

"Well, yeah! I'm Sprig!" Sprig countered. "I might not be the BFFs of your world but I can be the BFF of this world!"

Sprig shot out his hand. "So, what'd ya say? Should we shake on it?"

Sasha looked at Sprig's mucus-covered hand and shivered. She pushed it away with little force. "I'll… I'll think about it."

"That's not a no!" The little frog boy pranced along the road, while Sasha followed him from behind. Sasha watched as he moved forward, a slight beat and skip to his step, and she couldn't help her mouth curling upwards ever so slightly. However, she was cut off from her train of thought when her guide called out for her. "Hey, you coming?"

"… Y-yeah, I'm coming! Wait up!" She didn't notice it but her own steps had a little skip in it too.

* * *

After a few more minutes of walking, the duo finally reached the lake. And honestly to Sasha, it was the most beautiful view she had ever seen. The water was glistening and clear like the tears of an angel, while the plant life flourished around and in the lake with an assortment of colors and shapes, giving the lake a more idealistic approach to any outsider. There were bugs there and while Sasha didn't like them, they did bring more life into the already incredible view of the lake.

"Wow…" Sasha awed as she stared at the scenery. At this point, she almost felt guilty for wanting to take a dip in the pool.

Well, almost.

With one fell swoop, Sasha threw away her clothes, revealing a swimsuit (which she gracefully borrowed) underneath. "Alright, let's go!"

"WooooOOOOO—ooooo?" Sprig and Sasha screeched as they ran towards the lake, only for their call of the wild to be cut short by the sign sticking out on shore. Sasha took a look at the sign, reading it. "'Don't swim'… Huh, I guess English exists in this world too."

"I don't remember there being a sign here last time."

"And when was the last time you came here?"

"When I was still a pollywog. So a few years ago, give or take."

Sasha nodded in respond. "Well, it doesn't matter because that water is just asking us to be dipped in. Come on, Sprig!"

"Uh, Sasha?" Sprig called out. "I know we walked a long way to get here but…"

"But what?"

"Well… I don't think it's safe to go for a swim. The sign looked like it was written in a hurry!"

Sasha pouted. "It's fiiine, Sprig. The sign's probably a prank or something. Heck, maybe some dude's trying to claim the whole lake for himself!"

Sprig, however, was not convinced by that. "I don't think so. I just have a really bad feeling about this!"

"Uuuugh! Come. On. I had to figure out a plan all night just to get here and you're bailing out on me right now?!" Sasha argued, albeit too aggressive. "I thought you wanted to be my BFF!"

"I do! It's just—!"

"Just what, Sprig?! BFFs are supposed to help each other! They're supposed to watch each other's backs whenever they get in a bad spot! If I say I wanted something, you're supposed to help me get it! If I get into trouble, you're supposed to pull me out of it, even if it puts you in my place!" Sasha yelled, getting louder by the minute. "If you don't watch my back, what kind of friend are you?"

Sprig stared at Sasha, dumbfounded by her arguments. Was this really how Sasha saw her friends as? It didn't seem right. In fact, it felt wrong; so very wrong. Not knowing what else to do, Sprig sighed.

"I'm sorry, Sasha. I just can't."

For the first time in her life, Sasha was rejected, from someone she thought as a friend nonetheless. She was shocked, thunderstruck, and stunned. She involuntarily took a step back, too surprised by Sprig's final answer. This… this had never happened before. Sasha wasn't sure what to do, what to think, what to say. Her heart, it didn't feel right. Whatever she was feeling now, it felt so out of place.

So she did the first thing she thought of; she hardened her gaze and turned to the lake. "You know what? FINE! I don't need a friend like you anyway!"

Her muscles tightened, her focus sharpened and with all her might, she ran straight towards the lake. Just before the water touched her toes, she jumped forward and cannonballed into the pool. She managed to dive a full meter under the surface before breaching back upwards, taking in a full deep breath as she surfaced.

She swam towards the centre of the lake, causing the landscape to alter itself. The water rippled and waved to her movements, changing the calm lake into sinusoidal movements of ups and downs. The bugs all flew off under the localized chaos and the fish underneath swam away. The once peaceful and serene scenery was disrupted by the blonde teen, splashing water all over the place.

"See that, Sprig! I can have fun in here all on my own! WoooOOO!" Sasha laughed and smiled but it was all forced. She thought that jumping into the lake anyway would ease this feeling of hers and yet, it didn't. The feeling stayed and continued to pester her, much to her annoyance. Looking at Sprig, he was still there on-shore, determined to not move an inch closer into the water. The more she looked at him, the more the uneased feeling grew.

Suddenly while looking at Sprig in vain hopes that he'd join her in the lake, she saw him jumping up and down, his arms flailing and his face full of panic. Sasha wasn't sure what he meant but she believed that he was still trying to convince her to leave the lake. Well, she was having none of that.

"If you're trying to get me out of here, well too bad! I'm not leaving until you come in, Sprig!" Sasha yelled back. With the feelings occupying her thoughts, Sasha did not notice the ever-growing shadow looming over her. Only after said shadow reached her face did she wonder why it suddenly turned dark.

"Huh?" Sasha voiced, turning to see who turned off the Sun. She found herself staring a weird thick and somewhat scaly pillar and following upwards, she saw the face of her end; a giant reptilian lake monster with very sharp teeth.

Sasha gasped, for that was the very last thing she did before the beast lunged downwards, its jaws opened wide, and chomped the teen whole.

* * *

"OH MY GOSH, OH MY GOSH, OH MY GOOOOSSSHH!" Sprig panicked, not knowing what to do. He just saw his hooman 'friend' get eaten by a giant lake monster. He ran around in circles, trying to figure out what can he do.

First up off the list; he screamed. "AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

Now for step two; saving Sasha. Using all of his little froggy brain, he brainstormed for an idea, any idea, that he could use to get her out before the lake monster digested her. He hit himself in the noggin several times, hoping that something would come up. With his frantic pacing, however, he never realized that his pain peppers that he packed with him at fallen out of pocket. Only after accidentally stepping on it, did he get an idea.

"I'm coming, Sasha!" Sprig shouted, taking the pain pepper with him and jumped in the lake. Being a frog, he swam faster than any human could ever try and in a moment of desperation, even faster than what most frogs could. Once at the centre, he leapt onto one of the lily pads and looked around for the monster.

A few seconds later, he saw one of its fins surf above the water. Sprig took a deep breath and flailing wildly, he screamed. "COME HERE, MONSTER! I'M RIGHT HERE! WOO HOO! LALALALALALALALA!"

To his fortune, the lake monster noticed his crazed behaviour and swam straight towards him, the fin being the only visible part of it. The little frog boy clenched his butt and strained his thighs. Once the lake monster got close enough, he took up a war cry and jumped up towards it.

"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAA—!" Sprig cried. The monster leapt out of the water and with its massive jaws, chomped up Sprig completely in one go. Satisfied, it landed in the water and dove back to its deep domains.

Meanwhile in Sprig's perspective, he was currently travelling down the monster's long oesophagus, being pushed the pulsating diaphragm in a somewhat relaxing and massage-inducing motion. Once noticing an opening, he quickly reacted by grabbing the inner walls of the stomach, narrowly avoiding the intense stomach acid underneath.

The stomach was dark which in hindsight pretty obvious due to the lack of natural lighting. He couldn't see anything in there but he wasn't about to give up. "SASHA?! ARE YOU THERE?!"

The frog gods blessed him that day, as he heard a voice shout in the darkness. "SPRIG?! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

"SAVING YOU, DUH!" Sprig said, making it sound as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Due to the lack of lighting and the enclosed space, his hearing was a lot better than it was outside. Because of that, he heard the slight whisper from somewhere around him.

"Why?"

An eyebrow raised. "Why what?"

"Why come and risk your life like this? I thought we weren't friends."

On habit, a small smile formed itself. "Of course we're friends! If I got eaten by the lake monster first, I bet you'd save me too."

"No, I wouldn't."

"Huh?"

"I wouldn't put myself into danger like this. I'd run away and never look back. That's what I'd do."

A moment of silence drew itself heavily into the atmosphere. It was too dark to see but Sasha knew exactly the new feeling that came in, replacing her previous uneasiness. It was shame. She felt ashamed of herself and she knew she deserved it.

Sprig, however, did not care. "I don't believe you!"

Sasha was surprised. "It's the truth, Sprig! I would've run away and left you to get digested."

"And I'm saying that you're LYING!" he argued back, louder than ever. "The first time we met, you saved my life from a frog-eating mantis. Then just after, we worked together and, pardon my language, beat the creek out of it!"

"I may not know you that long, but I do know you never run away from a fight! Ever! You're smart, brave and super cool and weird! If I ever get in trouble, I know you'd be there to get me out of it. And if you ever get in trouble, you can always count on me to help you out! Because THAT'S WHAT FRIENDS DOOOOO!"

At this point, something wet streamed down Sasha's face. She was glad it was dark at the moment, or else she'd never be able to live with herself if Sprig saw what was happening. Hanging by the stomach's inner layer, she wiped off whatever wetness there was off her face and grinned in determination.

"Alright, Sprig! So how do we get out of here?" Sasha shouted at the general direction where Sprig might be at.

"Easy! When I say 'now', let go, alright?"

"Got it!"

"Okay, then…" Sprig pulled out a bundle of pain pepper and with the strength of his forearm, he threw the delicious method of suicide into the acid, causing it to bubble like crazy. "NOW!"

Sasha felt a blow of wind from underneath her and it was getting really hot. She let go like Sprig said and suddenly, the wind grew so strong that it pushed her straight up and out of the stomach, back through where she entered. It was tight, moist and honestly felt really weird but she knew it was working the moment she saw a light.

* * *

The lake monster was having a pretty neat day. Two full meals in one afternoon? What a treat that was. Though, the lanky one had a pretty unique flavour, something this lake monster had never tried before.

Too bad the rest of the afternoon wasn't as good.

Out of nowhere, it felt a sudden heat surging from its stomach. The lake monster wriggled around underwater, unable to escape the incredible pain it was suffering through. No longer able to continue, it swam upwards into the fresh air and released a massive stream of flame that looked like it could burn down an entire forest. And with it, out came the duo in a ball of fire.

Thankfully they were in a lake, else they would've burned themselves to death in their escape attempt.

Sasha and Sprig crashed into the cool water, washing away the corrosive stomach acid they were avoiding in the first place. Sasha quickly breached the waters, taking a huge breath as proof that she was alive. Calming down, she looked around "Sprig? SPRIG?! Where are you, buddy?!"

"Ack, I'm right here, Sasha!" Sprig called as he swam towards his human friend. Sasha looked at him, feeling happier than ever. "Sprig! Oh thank gosh you're okay!"

"Yep, all okay here. A few burns here and there but they'll heal."

Once close by, Sasha stared at her little frog friend, followed by a giggle and then, genuine laughter. Seeing her laugh, Sprig joined in on the laughing spree and soon, the duo were laughing together, all wet and covered with diluted stomach acid.

"ROOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

"We should leave."

"Yep, swimming right now."

* * *

The entire day had been suspiciously quiet at the Plantar household. Unbeknownst to the SS duo, Hopadiah Plantar had apparently fallen asleep with his eyes opened, reading a book about acting. The moment he woke up, he realized it was evening already. He yawned, blinking his eyes momentarily.

"Hu-buh wuah, how long was I out?" Hop Pop asked out loud, though expected no one to answer. Suddenly, he remembered why he went into the study in the first place; he was mad at Sasha and locked the front door. His eyes shot open, a sudden realization hit him like a ladybug. He immediately checked the pockets of his jacket behind him.

"It's gone… IT'S GONE!" Hop Pop madly ran out of his study, searching around. "Kids, where are you?!"

He ran towards the door to look outside but realized that the front door wouldn't budge. "Wha?" Looking down, he noticed that the lock he placed was still there, untouched. Hop Pop felt very confused but decided to cut it short by checking the basement where Sasha was staying. He opened the cellar door and immediately he saw Sasha and Sprig, playing a different game that was not Toads and Towers.

"So, I get to buy this property, right?" Sasha asked.

"Yep! And when you've bought all the same colour places, you get to buy farms, rivers and inns. Farms create more food, rivers for water and inns for money. But inns need food and water, and you only get money if you land on them again the next turn." Sprig explained. "Wait, I think I got the rulebook somewhere. I'll go check my room."

Sprig stood up and walked towards the stairs, where he then saw Hop Pop watching them. "Hop Pop, you're here! For some reason."

Hop Pop stretched his collar. "Kids, have you happen to see the key to the front door?"

Seeing Hop Pop, Sasha too walked towards the stairs, her hands rummaging in her pockets. "Oh yeah, you mean this? You kinda dropped it. We wanted to give it back but you were asleep and stuff."

Sasha gave the key to Hop Pop and dropped it in his froggy hands. "Huh… Alright then, thank ya, Sasha."

"No probs." Sasha exclaimed, doing a lazy salute.

"I'll go prepare us some dinner. If ya kids wanna help, you're fine to join me." Hop Pop told the duo, leaving the basement door open on his way. Sasha and Sprig both mildly shouted their response.

"We'll be there in a sec!" "Got it, old man." Once they were sure that Hop Pop was out of hearing range, Sasha closed the door as normal as possible and the two proceeded to sigh in relief.

"Hey, Sprig?"

"Yeah, Sasha?"

"Thanks for backing me up at the lake. I wasn't being very fair to you but you still risked your life to save mine. You're… You're a good friend."

Sprig awed. "Does that mean I'm your BFF of this world?!"

Sasha rolled her eyes with a smile. "Yeah, Sprig. You're my BFF."

"WOO-HOO!" Sprig cheered, jumping in joy.

Watching Sprig all happy and dancing, Sasha can't help herself but feel genuinely happy herself. She wondered, when was the last time she felt like this ever since she came here? Sure, she had her moments here and there but that was all they were; moments. Fleeting moments, never lasting more than a few minutes, never that strongly.

But here, this moment, she can truly say she'd remember forever.

Said moment however was ruined when Polly slammed the door opened, carrying a kitchen knife. "YOU'LL NEVER EAT ME, BEAST!"

"I've said it two times already, I'm NOT going to EAT YOU!"

Sprig turned to his little sister. "Polly, where have you been?"

Polly lowered her knife. "Oh you know, somewhere."

"Somewhere?" asked Sasha, eyebrow raised.

"Yep, somewhere." Polly answered. "So… You're not going to eat us?"

"Never."

Polly's little baby shoulders drooped. "That's soooo boring! YOU'RE so boring!"

"EXCUSE ME?!"

"Polly!" called Hop Pop from the kitchen. "Where did you take mah kitchen knife?!"

Polly turned. "Oops. Sorry, Hop Pop! I'll be there with it!" Polly shouted, hopping back to the kitchen with her tadpole body. Now once more alone, Sasha and Sprig looked at each other.

"So… Wanna keep play Newtopoly?"

"Sure, what the heck."

* * *

Somewhere in the outskirts of the valley, an old and battle-hardened toad walked into a dark, cramped room during a thick thunderstorm. In front of him, a cell was housed, lined with bars of scarred steel. The floor on both sides of the room was littered with skittering bugs, overgrown moss and other unmentionables. The cobblestone walls that made up the room had leaked rainwater from outside, staining whatever it touched.

"This…" the toad said, revealing a yellow smartphone with a cat-like design. "Was found in the woods nearby, south of here."

"You told me that there were no one else except you that came here. So tell me, Anne…" he moved forward, revealing his ugly and scarred eye. He snarled, "Who else of your kind is here?"

The storm rumbled and lightning flashed abruptly, briefly revealing Anne, a young dark-skinned girl with thick hair in the cell, her leg shackled to the wall. Her eyes had bags underneath and from her perspective, taking that box was the worst choice of her life.


	3. Do People Dream of Jumping Frogs?

"Come on, Anne. You can do this…"

Sasha watched from the outside of the shop, somewhat anxious. Sure, she had no problems with what they were about to do but the restless feeling was part of a package. Plus, she could at least outrun Marcy so that was a plus.

Inside the said shop, Anne was looking left and right, making sure no one else was watching. She briefly glanced at the window, seeing both Marcy and Sasha outside, silently cheering her on. She really did not want to do this but what choice did she have? Her friends were counting on her! And she wouldn't be a good friend if she didn't do this.

Marcy though? She was just enjoying the whole thing.

"She's so gonna get caught."Marcy said, her face pressed against the glass wall.

"Pssh, no she won't!" Sasha argued. "Besides, it's her birthday. If she gets in trouble, we bail her out."

"You've never bailed me out before."

"Well, you never get in trouble."

Marcy shrugged. "Touché."

Suddenly, the door next to them opened abruptly and Anne ran out of the shop, ignoring the two. Sasha and Marcy quickly followed, though were somewhat losing ground.

"Anne! Slow down!" Sasha yelled from behind. She was followed by Marcy, who was already sweating heavily. "Come on… guys… Huff huff… You know I'm not good at running…"

After a few minutes, Sasha and Marcy finally managed to catch up to Anne, who was sitting on a bench at the playground. Sasha panted lightly, "Whew, haven't ran like that for a while."

Marcy, who looked like she was going to die, glared at the two. "I… hate… both of you…"

Sasha smiled at Marcy's little dramatic statement before turning towards Anne, who was far too quiet. The smile softened as she walked towards the Thai-American and lightly slapped her shoulder.

"Ah, Sash!" Anne yelled in surprise. "You scared me!"

"Me? Scaring you?" Sasha sarcastically asked, followed by a laugh. "Hahahaha! That's funny!"

"Yeah, funny…"

Sasha looked at Anne, realizing a bit of a mood change. "Hey, what's wrong? It's your birthday! Come on, be a bit more… I dunno, happy!"

Anne stared at the music box before her. "… This, it feels wrong. I shouldn't have stolen this."

With determination, Anne stood up, box at hand. "I'm gonna return this."

Sasha, however, was having none of this and pushed Anne back onto the seat. "What? No! Who knows what would happen?"

"But Sash, this is wrong! What if the old lady noticed?! I'll get caught!"

"Actually, the store didn't have any cameras. Plus, no witnesses so unless one of us rats you out, you're completely clear." Marcy added, finally recuperated.

"See?! Even Marcy agrees with me!"

"Just for the record, we won't associate with one another if the cops come— OW!" Marcy yelped, looking at Sasha who had 'accidentally' stepped on her foot.

Sasha placed her hand on Anne's shoulder, comforting her. "It's fine, Anne. You heard what Marcy said. No cameras, no witnesses, no nothing!"

"Well except, you know, me and Sasha. No snitching by the way." Marcy added. Sasha glared at her friend in response, causing Marcy to stiffen. "Right, shutting up now."

Sasha turned back to Anne. "Look, just… Think of it as your birthday present! From me and Marcy here!"

"Birthday present?"

"Yeah! Marcy found the music box, and I encouraged you to get it! I mean, you liked frogs, right?"

"Not really…"

Sasha continued regardless. "And this music box here?" She said, pointing at the box Anne was holding. "It's obviously worth more than what that shop was selling. So if we didn't take it, someone else would definitely have done it first."

"B-but—"

"And the old lady obviously didn't care. If she did, it wouldn't be here in the first place." Sasha exclaimed before she turned towards her other friend. "Ain't that right, Marcy?"

Marcy at the moment was scrolling through her phone. When she realized Sasha had called for her, she moved her head upwards. "Huh? What were you guys saying?"

"Believe me when I say this, Anne. We're completely in the clear."

Anne however, despite all of that, held some doubt in her mind. "Still…"

Sasha threw her hands upwards and walked away. "Fine! You want to return it, do it. Me and Marcy though? We'll be at that little café that just opened recently."

Marcy looked at Sasha, surprised. "Wait, I didn't agree to this—"

"Come on, Mars. Let's have some lattés while we wait for Anne to do 'the right thing'" Sasha baited with a mocking tone at the end. Marcy, knowing full well what the girl was doing, just sighed and followed the blonde.

Anne, despite having two good friends, was very easily convinced, whether it was by peer pressure or a simple suggestion. She might have a somewhat good moral compass (allegedly) but that didn't mean she wasn't very easily tricked.

"WAIT!" Anne shouted, stopping the two in their tracks. "M-maybe you're right. It is just a music box."

Immediately after, Sasha and Marcy appeared on both sides, grinning. Sasha wrapped her arm around Anne's collar, hugging her. "Alright, girl! Now that's what I wanted to hear!"

"Yeah, woo…" the Thai-American cheered weakly.

Marcy though just leaned on Anne's arm. "Well, come on. Open it. It is a music box, right?"

"That's what the label said." Anne replied. She held up the golden music box, her grip tightened around it. Slowly, she pulled open the top half, not noticing that the jewels glowed slightly.

There was a flash of colourful light erupting from the box, blinding everyone nearby. It lasted for a few seconds and yet, the girls didn't move. Too surprised, too enamoured, too scared.

For a brief moment, each of their eyes shined a colour. For a brief moment, it became blinding.

After that brief moment, there was nothing.

* * *

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH—" Sasha screamed, instantly getting up from her bed. Her screaming died a moment later, replaced by bulging eyes, a sweaty face and an intense heartbeat. She tried to breathe, as irregular as it was, calming herself down a few notches.

After a few seconds of just breathing, she wiped the sweat off her face and her heartbeat slowed down. She looked around and was remembered harshly; she wasn't in her room back home.

"Yeah, the basement…" Sasha told herself, still breathing somewhat heavily. She turned next to her, a photo she had placed standing comfortably by her side.

Placing her fingers on the photo, she sighed. "I'll find you guys…"

Sasha laid herself back down on her mat. She expected to fall asleep after a while but her mind was stuck on that dream of hers. She wasn't sure why seeing the dream, the memory, it filled her with unease. She continued to reimagine the events that transpired before she got sent to this fantasy amphibian nightmare but for every replay she watched, the details changed little by little. After who knows how long, Sasha groaned and decided to just leave the bed.

It took Sasha a few minutes to get ready for the day. Thankfully for her, all of Anne's clothing was of her size. There was also the fact that Anne packed several pairs of their school uniform for some reason, but who was she to judge? Though, she would have to wash them sooner or later.

In fact, Anne's backpack is surprisingly bigger than Sasha initially thought. Several teen-pop magazines, school supplies, extra clothing for all occasions, girl supplies and a bunch of other stuff. She was pretty sure she could pack Sprig in here with room to spare. Maybe she'll keep that in mind for the future but not right now at least.

Once she was ready with a pair of new (Anne's) clothes, she headed up the stairs and towards the kitchen for some breakfast. Upon entering the living room, she noticed that the rest of the Plantar family was already there; Both Sprig and Polly were what she assumed to be cereal, while Hop Pop was reading the news.

She walked towards the table and grabbed herself a bowl before sat herself in an empty chair. Hop Pop lowered his papers to greet her for the day. "Oh good morning, Sasha—AAAH!" Hop Pop shouted.

Sprig looked at Sasha and was left surprised. "Woah, Sash. Y-you look… kinda… eh?"

"He means you look horrible." Polly finished her brother's statement, pointing at the only human there with her spoon.

Unbeknownst to Sasha, she did in fact look somewhat horrible. Her hair was a mess with twigs sticking out of it, she had bags under her eyes and her skin looked paler than usual. There was also a trail of dried saliva from her mouth that she forgot to wash off or simply didn't notice.

Sasha poured herself some of the cereal and milk and ate without complaining. It took her a few seconds to notice that all eyes were on her, which she responded with very little emotion.

"Oh, you guys were talking to me?" Sasha asked, genuinely surprised. "Sorry, I just… just got some stuff working on. What were you saying?"

"We said, well more like Polly did, you look a bit out of touch lately." Hop Pop answered. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah yeah, I'm fine. Just a bad sleep, that's all." Sasha attempted to assure them. It wasn't very convincing, unlike her usual style. Hop Pop, however, still somewhat concerned, didn't pry on it. "Well, alright then. We've got a long day ahead of us so you better eat up!"

Sasha silently nodded and took a bite of her cereal.

* * *

The next day, Sasha came up a bit later than usual as the Plantars had already finished their breakfasts. She looked at her froggy foster family as they got ready to leave the house and were surprised to see Sasha up.

"Oh hey, Sash! You're finally awake!" Sprig cheerfully said, only to frown a second later. "You don't look so good. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm cool. Come on, let's get to work!" Sasha said with enthusiasm, though less than normal.

Hop Pop however disagreed. "Maybe you should take some rest for the day, Sasha. You don't seem that fine."

Sasha glared at the older frog. "I said I'm fine. Now come on, those fields aren't gonna work themselves."

She grabbed a hoe and immediately left the house, only to be stopped by Sprig. "Uh, Sasha?"

"What is it, Sprig?" Sasha asked, a bit aggressively. Sprig didn't notice. "That's not a hoe. That's a coat stand."

Sasha looked at the 'hoe' at hand and was surprised; it really was the coat stand. The hoe wouldn't have been indoors anyways. Sasha let it go abruptly, causing it to fall onto the ground. "Huh, I guess it is." She then left the house wordlessly, appearing somewhat 'out there'.

Hop Pop frowned, looking worried.

* * *

"Okay, now I'm very sure you're not alright. You need to rest, Sasha." Hop Pop exclaimed as he watched Sasha leaning on a shovel, half-awake. She was staring off to the distance and blinking slowly. Her mouth was slightly ajar and Hop Pop was almost convinced that Sasha was sleeping with her eyes open.

"Sasha? You there?" Hop Pop tugged her jacket, shaking her. "SASHA!"

"WUH?! HUH?! I'M…! I'm…" Sasha jolted up, surprised. She grabbed the shovel to attack but stopped pre-swing to get her bearings right. "Hop Pop? Ish that you?"

"Yes, Sasha. It's me." Hop Pop assured the confused teen. "Now put down that shovel and go to bed. You don't look like you had enough sleep!"

"I'm fine…"

"You said that yesterday and I'm not entirely convinced here." Hop Pop sighed. "Just go to bed."

"NO! I-I—"

"No 'I's or 'me's or 'you's. Go. To. Sleep."

Sasha frowned. "I don't need it! J-just let me do this, alright?!" Sasha immediately grabbed her shovel started digging holes for the newer crops. Hop Pop was not satisfied by this and despite her assurances, he pressed on. "What's going on, Sasha?"

She stopped for a moment, before resuming. "… Nothing. Nothing's wrong."

"That's obviously ain't true, Sasha. You can tell me what's wrong—" Hop Pop continued until he was stopped as Sasha speared the shovel deep into the earth.

Sasha, looking away, responded. "Look, I like you guys but let's be real here. I've only known you for more than a week—" She turned, facing Hop Pop. "And you're already threading the line. So just let me do my job,"

"_And mind your own business._"

Hop Pop moved back, shocked of her response. Tripping over a small rock, he fell backwards and watched as Sasha's formidable figure shadowed over him before leaving to continue her work. Her entire expression just screamed out distrust, like he had barged into a part of her that he shouldn't have. Sweat trailed down his face, his breathing became ragged and irregular.

He wiped the sweat off and his conviction became clear. It wasn't the first time he had to deal with something like this, and it ain't the last either.

* * *

For the past few days or so, Hop Pop and Sasha kept their talks to a minimum. Neither was willing to pry the other for information and to Sasha, this was far more preferable. Despite all that, her condition continued to worsen day by day and by the evening, Sprig was already getting worried. She was sluggish and unsure of herself, a far cry to the usual confident and cool human he knew of.

"We have to do something!" Sprig said as he watched Sasha boredly read one of her human magazine on the couch, occasionally falling to sleep, only to wake up moments later. "How can we just sit here and do nothing?!"

Hop Pop then walked by and joined in. "Don'tcha worry bout nothing, Sprig. I got myself a plan." He then pulled out a box, revealing it to Sprig.

"Woah…" Sprig awed.

"Yep, took me a while to find it. The storeroom really needs a cleaning."

Sprig took the box into his hands, examining it before he turned back towards Hop Pop. "Are you sure this will work?"

"It has to 'cause I ain't got any other ideas."

Sprig grinned and walked straight towards Sasha, box in hand. He stopped just in front of her as she napped, her consciousness going in and out of existence, unaware of her little froggy friend. Sprig shook the box in front of her, hoping she'd notice before asserting himself.

"Hey, Sasha!"

Sasha woke up in shock. "BAH! Huh? Sprig?"

"Yep, it's me! Your BFF, Sprig!" He cheered. He then showed the box to Sasha, shaking its contents. "I got this nifty little game here! Wanna play?"

Sasha looked at the box, but her eyes felt too blurry for her to fully see. She yawned, "Huaah… Yeah sure, why not…?"

"COOL! I'll set up the board!"

A few minutes later, the board was finally set. It was square in shape with the path going around and twisting, barring the middle. Said area had a little wheel and arrow to spin for chance and three decks of cards, one called 'Truth', another known as 'Dare' and the last one was a deck of 'Wild Cards'. There were also a bunch of different player pieces to choose from, modelled after random household objects like a hat or a theoretical self-propelling automated vehicle known as a 'kar'.

Depending on where the arrow fell, you get either truth or dare from the cards and the number of steps you can take. Answering the question or performing the dare allowed you to move forward while failing would give up your turn. Additionally, there were the so-called 'empty cards' that had nothing on them, and the deck of 'wild cards' that change the structure of the game. The objective was simple; get your piece to the end of the board first and you win.

It was a fairly simple game for kids, and one of the few board games that Hop Pop bought when he was still young and full of dreams. They're actually quite expensive nowadays, being a collector's item since it was discontinued due to the arrow '_easily getting stuck in newtlings' eyeballs_'.

The lawsuits went on for days.

"Pick your pieces!" Sprig exclaimed, showcasing all the player pieces available. Sprig chose a flask as his piece, followed by Polly with a war axe, Hop Pop with a little ship and finally Sasha who chose a religious stork statue which she was pretty sure was not a common household object.

Polly placed her piece on the board. "So, who goes first?"

"Well, we should go around the board and since I did find the game…" Hop Pop spun the arrow, landing on a truth.

He picked up a card from the truth deck and began to read. "Let's see here… 'What are your favourite flowers?' Pssh, that's easy! It's tulips!" He confidently answered before throwing his card into the used pile.

"Polly, you're up next!"

"Alriiight!" Polly hopped forward and spun the arrow, earning herself a dare. She pulled out a dare card, staring and quietly giving it to Sprig, who took it after several little slaps. "Huh? Oh, right. Forgot you can't read."

"SPRIG!" Polly scolded, clearly embarrassed.

Sprig ignored her and began to read. "Okay, 'Perform 10 push-ups'. Think you can do it?"

Polly scoffed. "Psst, do you—" the pollywog flexed her baby muscles. "EVEN KNOW ME?!"

Immediately after, Polly dropped on the floor and performed ten perfect push-ups, counting each and everyone, to the extent of her baby frog fins. Still, it was somewhat impressive.

The game went on as normal with a few wild cards in between such as mixing or skipping turns, double or nothing, and the infamous 5-second rule. After a while, Sasha started to enjoy the game despite her exhaustion. Then at one point midgame, the first empty card was pulled by the human girl.

"Huh, this card's got nothing on it." Sasha said out loud. Sprig opened his mouth to explain, only to be taken over by Hop Pop. "That there is called an empty card, Sasha. You spin the arrow here and whoever it picks gets to give you the truth of dare."

"Well, I landed on truth so…" She flicked the wheel around and watched it spin before slowing down and stopping. The arrow pointed at Hop Pop, not even a little surprised.

"Alright, Hop Pop. Lay it on me." Sasha lazily said towards the old frog, who smiled.

Hop Pop cleared his throat first, "Uh-hum, okay here it comes. Now tell me, Sasha, why aren't cha going to sleep at night for the past few days?"

Instantly, the whole mood and atmosphere shifted. Everyone became quiet and the Plantars all stared at Sasha for an answer, who in turn was shocked by Hop Pop's question and a moment later, turned to glare at the old frog.

"What. Kind. Of question. Is that?" Sasha replied with venom.

"It's an honest question, Sasha." Hop Pop answered, not bothering to look at her. "Are ya gonna answer or are ya gonna give up your turn?"

Sasha, not wanting to back down, took the bait. This usually wouldn't work but she wasn't currently at an optimal state of mind. "If you must know, the reason I haven't been sleeping at night is because I was doing other stuff."

"Other stuff?"

"I don't have to answer that." Sasha concluded, moving her piece forward a bit too aggressive. "Sprig, you're up."

Sprig slapped the arrow to spin, landing on a wild card. He picked one from its deck and showed it to everyone. "It's a reverse wild card! I guess it's your turn again, Sasha."

"Urgh, fine." She begrudgingly accepted, flicking the arrow, only to get herself another truth. Taking from the top deck, she showed it was an empty card again.

Wordlessly, she spun it again, though this time pointing towards Polly. "Alright, Polly. You get a question."

"Cool! So… WHAT'S THIS OTHER 'STUFF'?!"

Sasha quickly turned to Hop Pop, her left eye slightly twitching. Hop Pop wasn't even bothered. "Don't look at me. Polly's just curious."

"YEEAAHH!"

Sasha frowned deeply. "I was just thinking, okay? There, you got your answer."

"What were you thinking?" Sprig asked. In response, Sasha lifted her finger, shushing him. "IT'S… not your turn, Sprig."

"Oh ya, you're right!"

Sasha moved her piece again. "I'm guessing it's your turn now, Polly?"

Polly spun the arrow and immediately picked up a wild card once stopped. She looked at her card when suddenly, both eyebrows rose and with the might of the frog gods, slammed her card on the board.

"DARE TO THE KING, BABY‼" Polly shouted upwards.

"Dare to the King?" Sasha asked, one eyebrow up.

"It's a special card, even among wild cards." Hop Pop explained. "Basically, Polly can choose any one us to do a dare. If ya pass, both of your pieces move with your steps doubled. If ya fail, Polly moves the usual number of steps, while ya don't move at all. Then, she gets to spin the arrow again."

"It's like, a SUPER wild card!" Sprig exclaimed.

If Polly gave an easy dare, she'd win the game so long as the chosen one succeeded. But even if they failed, she'd still be the closest to win. Any choice she made would ultimately lead to her victo—

"I DARE SASHA TO TELL ME WHAT SHE WAS THINKING AT NIGHT, FULL STORY!"

"OKAY, THAT'S IT!" Sasha stood up and angrily stomped her way outside at the back, leaving the game. The Plantars all watched as Sasha left, everything grinding to a halt.

A few moments of silence later, Sprig stood up as well, feeling worried. "I'll go check on her." The little frog boy went on, following her trail.

With two players gone, the game was officially cancelled. Something Polly thought she should bring up.

"So, did I win?"

* * *

Sprig walked out of the kitchen door, leading himself to the lake area at the back of the house. On weekends and sometimes in the evening, the Plantars would spend their leisure time here, just practising their spitting or watching the sunset. A little special moment from time to time.

It didn't take long for Sprig to find his human friend. She sat at the edge of the docks, watching the ripples in the water, the sunset illuminating the horizon with a calm and warm orange light.

Sprig didn't say a thing. Instead, he strolled to her side and took a seat himself. The two of them continued to watch as the sun sets itself, the warm glow slowly disappearing.

About a minute later, he finally broke the silence. "So… that happened, huh?"

"Yep."

Sprig nodded, leaving another few moments devoid of speech. Once done, it began again. "… Hey, Sasha?"

"Yeah, Sprig?" Sasha asked in return.

"I'm sorry for what happened back there. We shouldn't have forced you on that." Sprig apologized, splashing the water lightly with his froggy feet. "We were just worried, that's all. But if you don't want to tell us about it, it's fine."

A few seconds, that was all it took. They were long seconds but every last one of it counted. A choice was made to reveal one's truth, even if they weren't comfortable about it. In the end, sometimes it was just better to say something about it anyway.

"I… haven't been sleeping well." Sasha admitted. "I keep having the same nightmares every single night. And the worst part? They weren't nightmares at all."

Sprig wanted to ask what she meant but stopped himself. Right now, she needed someone to listen instead.

"Before I got sent here, I… did something… bad. And I'm pretty sure it's this thing I did that got me here in the first place." Sasha turned upwards, looking straight at the setting sun. "And right now, my friends are also out there! I nearly died in the forest and that was close to town! Who knows what else is out there?!

"I don't want to say it but it keeps coming back. The nightmares, they aren't nightmares. They're memories of that bad thing I did."

Sasha's breathing became more rapid. "They keep playing back, over and over again. And every time I watch, the more I realize…"

"_What if it was my fault?_"

Sprig stared at Sasha as tears slowly leaked out. They started slow but the more she explained, the faster they flowed. Sooner than later, droplets were formed and fell onto the wooden docks, staining it momentarily.

The sun finally disappeared from the far reaches, leaving nothing but an afterglow. Without hesitation, without a second thought, Sprig wrapped his little arms around Sasha and hugged her tightly. His body was still slimy and weird but she didn't struggle. She might have not deserved it but at the moment, she needed it.

A few minutes later, when the fireflies come out, Sprig let go and moved a step back, giving his human some breathing space. Sasha turned towards her little froggy friend; no, her froggy BFF, and wiped off the wetness around her eyes.

"We'll find your friends! Don't worry about it!" Sprig said, full of spirit. "And if they're anything like you said, they'll definitely be okay! I'm sure of it!"

Sasha smiled. "Thanks, Sprig."

"You are super welcomed! I—" Sprig pounded his chest. "—AM YOUR BFF‼" He then shouted, enthusiasm oozed through each and every word.

"Haha, you definitely are." Sasha laughed, pointing at him with a finger gun.

"So… I guess you don't want to keep on playing, huh?" Sprig asked.

"What do you think?" Sasha asked back sarcastically. "Tell Hop Pop I'll be back in a minute. And tell him never to use a game to forcefully make me tell my problems, like ever again."

"YOU GOT IT!" Sprig exclaimed before saluting and hopping back inside.

Sasha turned back towards the lake but this time, looking at the stars above, finally visible and twinkling brightly. She watched a shooting star coming around briefly and continued on for a minute or two. Satisfied and calmed down, she sighed sadly and yet looked up with hope.

"I promised I'll find you guys, but it's gonna take a bit while." Sasha told the night sky. "When I do, we'll find a way home and everything will go back to normal."

"I'm sorry I got you guys into this mess but don't worry about it. I'll get you out of this mess too." Sasha stood up and strolled towards the door. Placing her hand on the handle, she looked up one last time.

"Just… wait for me, kay?" She then entered her temporary home, feeling somewhat lighter and ready for a good night's sleep.


	4. Grubby Paranoia

Three little children sat around a table. One was lanky and weird, one was hoppity and weird, and one was round but somehow not weird. All of them were waiting impatiently for food to come and soon, their impatience paid off.

"Food, food, food!" The hoppity one known as Sprig cheered as he repeatedly slammed the table, fork and spoon in hand.

"FOOOOOODD!" The round one named Polly screamed, which was a normal response when one is desperate for sustenance.

"Yo, old man! When's the food coming? This girl here's gotta eat." The lanky one proclaimed to be Sasha asked rudely. Her chair was tilted back and her feet were laid crossed on the table, keeping her steady.

Meanwhile a few feet away, a much older person who goes by the name Hopadiah (aka Hop Pop) was busy pouring some mysterious concoction into a few bowls with a ladle. "Hold ya snails! I'm pouring, I'm pouring!"

Once done, he slid the bowls towards each of the children, excited for some well-earned grub.

"Here ya go! My famous mitosis stew!" Hop Pop said as he served the bowls, proud of himself. "Known to double your life expectancy when consumed. It also gives ya fair skin."

"I don't know what that name means, but I like the sound of everything else." Sasha complimented, flicking her spoon towards Hop Pop.

Once Hop Pop took his seat with his own bowl, he clapped his hands once. "Alright, kids, time to eat!"

"Yeeeeaaahhh!" Both Sprig and Polly cheered together, instantly gouging their meals. The older brother aggressively spooned his stew into his huge mouth, while the baby sister planted her face into it, slurping every last drop.

Sasha watched the two eat without any sense of table manners, and took a spoonful of the stew as well. She shoved it into her mouth, not noticing that the contents twitched.

Immediately, she knew something was wrong. Her eyes shot open and she felt something in her crack and died. Her stomach gurgled in protest, causing her face to turn green and her cheeks to puff.

"PSSSSHHH!" Without thinking, she spat out a stream of the stew out of her mouth, spoon included, towards Sprig. The warm liquid hit him directly onto his face and Sprig, who unfortunately was unprepared for that assault, was left surprised and defenceless as it violently attacked his eyeballs.

"AAAAAHHH! MY EYES!" Sprig cried in pain, his eyes turning red from all the spices in the stew. He leapt out of his seat and started running around in random directions, screaming and occasionally bumping into different household objects.

At the same time, Sasha was looking somewhat sick, her stomach completely empty. Her body too weak, she slid off of her chair and onto the ground, forming a foetal position as she continued to caress her aching belly.

"Urrrghh…" Sasha groaned, feeling as if she was dying. Her face continued to stay a sickly green and when her cheeks puffed with the rest, she quickly swallowed it back, feeling even worst.

Seeing his second-favourite grandchild and his human guest in pain, Hop Pop jumped off to check on them. "Sprig! Sasha! Are you two okay?!"

"Urrrghh…" was the only response he got from the latter before presumably fainting with saliva pouring out, while the former had dunked his entire head in the sink.

"Pssh, what a bunch of babies." Polly exclaimed, unaffected by the recent events, before returning back to finish her bowl of stew.

* * *

Later on, the Plantars (and Sasha) were having a family meeting in the living room. All the kids were sitting on the surprisingly spacious couch while Hop Pop stood in front of them. At the same time, Sprig had some roughly-tied bandages around the top half of his head, revealing a tuff of ginger hair, while Sasha was wrapped in blankets, looking horrible.

"Honestly, you two keep scaring the hoppers out of me." Hop Pop exclaimed, before sighing. "Okay Sasha, what happened back there? You never reacted like that to my cooking before."

Sasha coughed and wheezed. "Hgack, well I never actually ate your cooking before."

"Say whaaaat?!" Hop Pop shouted in surprise. "Then what've you been eating all this time?!"

"Oh you know, berries and veggies. A few roots here and there, ahck." Sasha answered before coughing. "It's— cough, not that bad."

"Well, I did notice you were looking thinner." Sprig added, not quite at her direction. He couldn't exactly see around him with the bandages over his eyes.

"Are you telling me you've been eating nothing but fruits and vegetables since ya got here?!"

"Heh, vegetarian diets exist in my world, so it's like— cough, totes possible." Sasha waved dismissively.

"Were you a vegetarian back in your world?"

"Well no, but—"

"_SO YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT YOU'RE DOING?!_" Hop Pop scolded loudly. Sasha flinched in her blanket, a bit surprised. "Sheesh, Hop Pop. It's not that big of a deal. I've read a bit of Anne's magazines to know what I'm doing."

Hop Pop raised an eyebrow. "Anne? Who's Anne?"

"Oh, it's Sasha's BFF back in her world! She's got a nest on her head." Sprig answered, again not looking quite at the right direction. Hop Pop was still somewhat confused, asking "What's a BFF?" afterwards.

"Look, that doesn't matter! All I'm saying is that I totally can handle a full-vegetarian diet! All I have to find are the protein substitutes and I'm good." Sasha explained as she pulled out one of Anne's magazines from beneath her covers.

"What's a protein?" Sprig asked. Sasha turned to her BFF, "It's this weird chemical in all animals. Kinda important."

She opened up the page about dietary plans and skimmed through it. "Anyway, it says here I can substitute meats with tofu. You got any of that?"

"What's a tofu?" Hop Pop asked. Sasha immediately switched pages. "Okay then, no worries! We'll just check for something else…"

"How about soybeans?" Sasha questioned, which again the Frogs all turned heads. Sasha continued, "Avocado?"

"SPEAK AMPHIBISH, LADY!" Polly yelled. Apparently, English was known as Amphibish in this world. Sasha didn't know why but she decided not to question it. However realizing her increasing lack of options, Sasha made a calculated decision and threw the magazine into her basement room, where it would stay there until it proved itself useful.

"Okay, so I'm gonna die. That… that honestly sucks." Sasha exclaimed, though while smiling for some reason. It might be the stew affecting her brain chemistry. No one can tell really.

"How about them insects? I haven't seen ya even touch one of them." Hop Pop asked. Sasha stared at the old frog and proceeded to show her disgust. "Bleh! No offence Hop Pop but humans don't eat bugs."

"But you said animals have protein. So technically, bugs have protein too!" He pointed out quickly.

Sasha frowned. "Yeah, but that doesn't mean I like eating bugs."

"But ya can!"

"But I. Don't. Want. To!"

"_YOU GOTTA!_"

"_NO!_"

"Hey hey, you two. I think we can make a deal." Sprig said, walking between the two. Despite managing to position himself correctly, he still did not look at the right direction. "Look, Sasha doesn't like what we usually eat but as Hop Pop says, it's healthy. So why not we make a deal?"

Sasha turned to Sprig. "What kind of a deal?"

"Well, there's the store we usually go to buy stuff like mushrooms and glue. Maybe you'll find something there."

Hop Pop rubbed his chin, contemplating. "Hmm… Well, it's worth the shot. Alright then, kids! We'll be visiting town tomorrow! It's a bit early than what when we usually do, but I guess we can make an exception this time."

Sasha, Polly and Sprig all cheered, though the human cheer being somewhat weak. For the latter two, they only visited the town twice a week; one for grocery shopping while the other was for selling their farmed goods. For Sasha however, she had been staying with the Plantars for just over a week and even then, she'd never really visited town. Thus, she was forced to stay home with Sprig while Hop Pop and Polly went to town.

Then again, Hopadiah Plantar was paranoid as heck back then so hey, little improvements.

Suddenly, Sasha felt something climb up from her stomach and her face quickly turned green. She immediately ran away into the bathroom and a few moments later, belching noises squeaked out.

Hop Pop stared at the bathroom door. "Or you know, until Sasha is not sick."

More uncomfortable noises came from the door.

* * *

The next day, Sasha had finally fully emptied her stomach and was feeling much better, albeit somewhat hungry. She had filled herself with some of her usual foodstuffs; plant stuff and cereals, before readied herself for town. The Plantars and her left home late in the morning, close to noon.

While it would have been preferable to be able to visit town anytime they want, it simply wasn't possible for them. The Plantar homestead was at the outskirts and while Sprig and Sasha are technically capable of going by themselves, Hop Pop simply didn't trust them to go there without causing any trouble. Plus due to the distance, someone like Hop Pop would have problems, so they took Bessie with them.

Finally arriving at town, Sasha looked around the place, absorbing whatever she set her eyes on. This was officially the first time she had been to Wartwood and in her opinion, the town was a lot more planned out than she thought. She had expected a bunch of houses haphazardly placed all over the place but Wartwood was a genuine normal town.

Except you know, frog people. That's still weird to her.

"Why do I have this drape again?" Sasha asked, sitting in one of Bessie's spare seats. Said drape was purple in colour and looked like it was pulled out of the attic after several decades. It probably was.

"Just because we're good with ya, doesn't mean the rest of the townsfolk are." Hop Pop explained, being the driver of their snail.

"I get that. You told me that days ago. But shouldn't I like—" Sasha fluttered her drape. "Cut the stem early or something?"

"Most of the folks around here never even seen you, Sasha. All they've heard are rumours and stories."

"My favourite's the one where you steal pollywogs at night and eat their legs." Sprig added.

Sasha turned to Sprig, bewildered. "Baby frogs don't have legs."

"Hehe yeah, I know."

Despite the interruption, Sasha continued. "But still! I'm not that bad right, Hop Pop?"

Hop Pop leashed Bessie to turn left. "Honestly Sasha, sometimes you scare me."

Sasha blinked from her drape. "Okay wow, dude… That's… that kinda hurt." Hop Pop shrugged nonchalantly and grinned. He then said jokingly, "You know, if it were anyone else, I bet they'd be so scared that they'd catch ya and feed you to the herons."

"Herons?" Sasha asked.

"Giant frog-eating birds, twice as tall as even our tallest buildings. They have a taste for the intestines, hehe."

Even though Hop Pop was just playing around, Sasha couldn't help but let the info cloud her mind. She stared at the citizens of Wartwood, unsure of how today would go. Sure, she knew Hop Pop was just joking but that didn't really ease her. After the whole lake incident, Sasha began to trust the Plantars more than usual and what Hop Pop said might hold some truth in them.

The drape around her tightened.

Seeing the store nearby, Hop Pop pulled the leash and steered Bessie to an empty spot close by. "Alright kids, we're here! Don't forget your shopping bags!"

Shopping bags in hand, the Plantars (and Sasha) strolled into the store. Despite the obvious purple drape covering her, nobody seemed to bat a froggy eye over her. Some might glance at her but other than that, she was nothing more than just a suspicious person which was still better than being called a monster.

The store they went in was full of various daily goods usually not sold in other nearby shops. From hardware such as nails and wooden planks to foodstuff such as spices and berries, to even unique tools like the fabled can opener, one can find almost anything in the store.

However, bulk supplies such as cheese and insect meat were often bought at the weekly market, where the Plantars also spend their time to sell their own produce. Nonetheless, the store was still essential to Wartwood.

"Okay, meet up at the counters in a few minutes. And Sasha, do try not to get into trouble." Hop Pop said.

"Wait, why am I singled out?!" Sasha argued but all she received was a knowing look from the older frog. Afterwards, the group split up, though only Polly was forced to accompany Hop Pop.

* * *

Sasha walked around the aisles on her own, looking for anything edible for her. Most food products were made from some form of bug meat, the difference being which type. What she did find interesting was the clear distinction between farmed and wild bugs.

Sasha picked up a weird grub worm bar from the aisle and read the label. "Made from real firefly larvae. Eww… Wait, what did it mean by 'real'?"

"Hey, you!" A squeaky voice called out from behind her. Sasha, still in her drape, turned around towards the voice. Looking behind, she saw a small frog person about the same height as Sprig but obviously older.

"Uh… Are you talking to me?" Sasha asked, instinctively pulling the cloth wrapped around her closer. The frog stared at her with increasing intensity, examining her every detail.

"Do I… know you?" He or she asked. Sasha couldn't really tell herself but decided to focus on the more important things at hand. She replied, "I don't think so."

"I don't know… You look kinda familiar."

"Nope, never seen you in my entire life."

"Hmm…" They stared at her even closer. Sasha felt nervous sweat squeeze out of every pore, both her breathing and heart rate accelerating. After a few seconds of intense and somewhat intimidating staring, the frog person whipped back to a more comfortable distance, smiling.

"Yep, you're absolutely right! Sorry about that! Haha!" The frog person laughed before leaving. "Welp, see you around, stranger!"

"Yeah, you too…" Sasha dishonestly replied. Once he was gone, she did a sigh of relief, pleased with how that turned out and unknowingly pocketed the larvae bar. "Phew, glad that didn't blow over."

Sasha walked towards the next aisle, continuing with her search. She looked over at a jar of blueish fluid, reading the label. Blubberry, which she assumed to be this world's version of blueberry. Don't know why it was just one letter different though.

"WAIT, DID WE GO TO THE SAME SCHOOL?!" Suddenly, the frog person returned, shouting at her at the end of the aisle. Unprepared, a startled Sasha accidentally dropped the jar of blubberry jam, splattering it all over the floor.

"Dude, what the heck?!" Sasha angrily yelled at them. "You made me drop the jar!"

"Sorry, sorry! I-I'll just leave…" They apologized dejectedly and disappeared. Sasha huffed and vented out the stress silently, and moved.

In a comical fashion, the jam stuck underneath her shoes acted as some sort of lubricant despite its ironic name. After a few steps, most of the jam had come off from her soles and the residue, somehow stuck itself onto her drape, caused her to slip.

"AAAAAHHHH—!" She yelped, almost falling backwards. The purple drape, once used to protect her identity, now betrayed her as it wrapped itself, restraining her top half. Sasha fought loudly to keep her balance and get free but the older-than-her drape proved to be a challenge.

With the drape over her head, Sasha ran around wildly and blind, crashing into shelf after shelf. Patrons nearby watched in horror as this purple monstrosity caused chaos at every step. Some even ran away screaming from her path of imminent destruction.

In the end, she was finally stopped in her tracks when the betrayal drape latched itself around her leg, causing Sasha to come crashing down. The frogs who watched the calamity unfold continued to do so and with a bit of struggle, she finally escaped her cloth prison.

"RRRAAAHHHH!" Sasha cried, ripping the drape over her akin to that of a baby bird breaking free of its egg. She was sweating heavily from the panic and her muscles felt tense throughout the ordeal.

With bloodshot eyes, she assessed her surroundings and found herself staring at a group of amphibian shoppers. Her breathing slowly calmed but her thoughts on this had not; she was exposed.

"I-It's the monster…"

"It's hideous!"

"Timmy, look away!"

"But mother! I wanna see the monster!"

The panic rapidly crept itself back in again and seeing all the pointing fingers and whispering, Sasha did the first thing her mind could've possibly thought off under intense pressure; she booked it.

"Look, a diversion!" Sasha exclaimed as she pointed at behind the crowd. All of the patrons looked to see said diversion and within that brief moment, Sasha bolted out of there.

Meanwhile at the cashier, Hop Pop and the kids were waiting for Sasha. While Sprig was happily showing the marbles he chose to Polly, Hop Pop impatiently tapped his foot and looked around.

"Now where did she go off to? This store ain't really that big." Hop Pop asked out loud to no one in particular. Sprig, however, had been listening. "Maybe she found something cool."

"I've been to this store since it first opened and I assure you, there ain't anything 'cool' here." Hop Pop replied, adding quotations with his fingers.

At the corner of her eyes, Polly noticed a figure running at their direction and turned to look. A moment of focusing later, she pointed. "Look! There she is!"

Sasha was running for her life. Though her life wasn't actually in any danger, it felt like it was at the moment and the 13-year old did not deal with panicked decisions. She saw the Plantars on her way and immediately turned straight towards them.

"Oh there you are, Sasha. We've been waiting for you for the past five minu— H-HEEY!" Hop Pop yelped in surprise as Sasha grabbed everyone into her arms without stopping and leapt over the counters. The cashier clerk stared in horror.

"W-wait, Sasha! We haven't paid!" Hop Pop yelled, trying to break free of her grip. Sasha, however, continued her run and threw everyone onto Bessie's back, who was happily munching on some mushrooms.

"NO TIME!" Sasha yelled back and took her seat behind the old frog. "WE GOT TO MOVE, NOW!"

"N-now hold on Here, Sasha! We can't leave without paying!"

Sasha placed her hands on Hop Pop's shoulders and tightened her grip. "Look Hop Pop, I don't think you understand what's going here. I thought you were just being stupid and weird but in there, a bunch of frogs just straight up screamed at me! So right now, I need you to look at the road—"

"_AND DRIVE!"_

In a moment of confusion, Hop Pop cracked his leash and Bessie quickly drove off. Sasha turned to see the so-called angry mob, only to find an angry cashier clerk screaming incomprehensibly at them.

"Huh." Sasha spoke in a surprised tone, finally calmed down, before turning forward. She looked around at the Plantars, examining them. Sprig and Polly don't seem that bothered but Hop Pop did not look happy at all. Brows furled, a deep frown and focused entirely on the road.

The trip back felt longer than it should and Sasha couldn't help but look away.

* * *

Finally home after an unsettlingly quiet trip, Hop Pop drove Bessie in front of the front yard, letting Sprig, Polly and Sasha off before parking in the barn. While Sprig and Polly went straight into the house, Sasha turned to face the still frowning Hop Pop.

"Hey uh, Hop Pop?" Sasha called out with a hesitant tone. "Look, I just want to say—"

"Save it for later, Sasha. I need to park Bessie for the night. Clouds are looking a bit dark tonight." Hop Pop cracked the leash lightly and Bessie slowly moved towards the barn, making a cute noise on the way. Sasha stood alone at the front yard, looking at the darkening clouds. She sighed and walked back in, somewhat dejected.

A few minutes later, Hop Pop walked into the house through the back door and immediately went to prepare dinner. With her hands in her pockets, Sasha went with the others and took a seat, though she didn't take a plate herself. Upon sitting down, however, she felt something in her pocket. Pulling it out, she found in her hands the grub worm bar she accidentally stole from the store.

"Hey, is that a grub worm bar?" Sprig asked, noticing Sasha's item. Sasha lifted herself to reply. "Yeah, I kinda stole it, I guess? What about you guys? I saw those marbles you got, Sprig."

"Oh, these? I paid for them with my allowance." Sprig answered, rattling the marbles in its little bag.

"Wait, you get an allowance?"

"Yep! I guess you don't have one yet since you never went to town before. I'm sure Hop Pop was going to give you one too."

Sasha looked at her weird not-chocolate bar and turned to Hop Pop, who was cooking at the moment. With pure conviction, Sasha stood up and stomped her way towards the old frog and forcefully turned him around. Hop Pop, taken by surprise, almost dropped his ladle. "S-Sasha?! What is going on here?! Why are ya—?!"

"Here." Sasha said, giving up the bar. Hop Pop stared at the snack and then at Sasha, repeating the process. Finally stopping, he turned upwards to Sasha. "What's this for?"

Sasha sighed. "I know you're mad at me for pushing you and stuff and the whole not paying thing. So…" Sasha looked down, averting eye contact and rubbing her neck, and spoke quietly. "Sorry about that."

Hop Pop looked at Sasha and for the next few seconds, it was just quiet and awkward. Then suddenly without warning, Hop Pop laughed.

"HAHAHAHA! YOU THINK THAT'S WHY I WAS MAD AT YA? HAHAHAHA!"

Sasha blinked. "… What?"

The old frog continued to laugh and no one really knew what to do about it. Sprig laughed a little too, feeling a bit out of place, but then stopped when Polly slapped his arm. After a few seconds of Sasha awkwardly standing there, Hop Pop's laughter finally died down.

"Hahaha… Sorry, didn't mean to laugh that much. Hehe…" Hop Pop apologized. "I wasn't mad at ya for skipping out like that. I guess I was a bit frustrated that you didn't take my words seriously and called it 'stupid' and 'weird'. But I admit, the drape was a bit too much. Must've made ya feel pressured and all."

Hop Pop pushed the grub worm bar back to Sasha. "I'm sorry I made ya feel that way. I was being paranoid about it. Next time we go to town, no more of that drape!"

Pushing it to her chest, Sasha smiled. "Thanks, Hop Pop. Sorry about those words I said."

Hop Pop waved it off. "No problem! '_River 'round the stalks_', as they say."

"I think you meant '_water under the bridge_'." Sasha pointed out.

"Why would I say that?" Hop Pop asked, only to shook his head. "It don't matter. But hey, since ya got that grub worm bar there, might as well eat it. We did go all that way to get ya some food. Though, it's still made of bugs…"

Immediately and without hesitation, Sasha ripped open the wrapper in front of the Plantars and bit down hard into the bar. She ripped off a piece and chewed vigorously, her face showing a weird form of disgust. Once fully chewed, she swallowed the now mushy bar, pounding her chest a bit and coughing afterwards.

She expected something disgusting, she even expected herself to barf and yet, she didn't. Instead, she actually liked it! Sasha took herself another but smaller bite. "Mmm, sweet… yet salty… Hey, this isn't half bad!"

"You liked it?!" Sprig asked in awe.

"I mean— Mmm, it tastes a bit weird but it's pretty good!" Swallowing, Sasha continued eating until it was completely consumed. Tapping on her stomach, she laughed. "Wow! I could use more of that."

"Well, you're in luck 'cause we'll be visiting town again tomorrow. We still need to buy some groceries after all and pay for that bar you stole." Hop Pop said.

"Maybe you'll find some other stuff too." Sprig added, climbing the table to get closer to the conversation.

Sasha grinned. "Yeah, you guys are right. I mean, I still won't eat raw bugs but hey, at least this stuff is good!"

Hop Pop and Sasha shared a nice and friendly moment, only to be interrupted by Polly who slammed the table with her little fins of might. "WAIT, WAIT, _WAAAAIIIIT!_"

Everyone turned to Polly, who was still in her seat. "If Sasha can eat normal food here, then why can't she eat Hop Pop's cooking?"

"Maybe Hop Pop's just a bad cook. Whatever he makes might just be pure poison to me. Hahahaha!" Sasha answered, laughing at her little joke. Sprig and Polly also laughed, followed by Hop Pop. When they thought about it, it could be true. And simply because of it, it was quite funny. The laughter lasted for several many seconds and slowly died down naturally, everyone still thinking about it.

"… Wait, what's that supposed to mean?" Hop Pop asked, glaring at Sasha.


	5. Hop Luck Pot Luck

Chomp!

Chew, chew, chew…

Swallow.

These described the sequence of actions Sasha was currently undertaking. At the moment, she was with Sprig and Polly, and all were sitting outside nearby the homestead. Recently, they had visited the store to buy supplies (and apologize for the mess she made) and while they were there, Sprig and Polly decided to buy a bunch of different snacks for Sasha to try.

Surprising to say, Sasha was on board with it.

"Hmm… Chewy… and sweet…" Sasha said, her mouth full of a half-eaten snack bar. It was similar to the bar she accidentally stole last time but the flavour was somewhat different. This one had a chocolate-like exterior surrounding the chewy caramel-esque middle. All in all, it reminded her of the snack bars at home.

"Ay, this is good too!" Sasha beamed, swallowing. Sprig nodded in agreement. "Right? It's made of—"

"_UP PUP PUP!_" Sasha cried, interrupting him. "No telling! I don't want to actually know what's in this stuff."

"Oh right, right! Sorry!"

Polly watched as the two older kids interact with one another. Throughout Sasha's stay with the Plantars at their homestead, Polly never did interact that much with the human teenager. Outside of the occasional talks with the family, Sasha usually just hung out with Sprig and they were like two peas in a pod. Polly had to admit, she was a tad jealous about this but she knew that it just wasn't her time yet.

While she lamented on that, an odd gaseous fluid slowly floated its way from the house's various windows and into Polly's vicinity, before it casually entered her undefined nostrils. Polly sniffed and after a few seconds, wretched loudly.

"AUUUGH! THIS SMELL!" Polly cried, covering her non-existent nose. "It's got to be that time of the year again…"

"What time?" Sasha asked, only to be hit by the smell as well, causing her to cry out in pain. "ARGH, MY EYES!"

"Oh boy, I know exactly what Polly means. Come on, I think it's better to just show you." Sprig said, standing up alongside Sasha.

The trio walked from their spot and back to the house. There, the smell emanating from the walls were strong and the closer they got, the more pungent the vicious odour became. It was the worst smell Sasha had ever experienced, before and after she got sent here into this foreign world.

Once at the front door, Sprig placed his hands around the door handle and readied himself. "BRACE YOURSELF!" He screamed, taking a deep breath.

Polly held her breath but Sasha, somewhat disoriented, was left confused. "Brace for wha—?"

Unfortunately for her, Sprig had opened the door. The evil gas that had built up inside was immediately released like a torrent of water, flooding the entire front yard. Everyone was sent flying, with the exception of Sprig who had held the door handle tightly.

A few moments later, the gas quickly dispersed itself and disappeared, allowing for some room to breathe. Sprig let go of his breath and resumed to breathe normally, the power of the stench finally somewhat normalized. Polly hopped her way to him.

"Alright, now that's out of the way, let's get inside. Eh, Sasha— Oh wait, she fainted." Sprig remarked, looking at Sasha's unconscious body a few feet away.

Polly nodded in response. "I can't believe Hop Pop just killed Sasha."

* * *

A few minutes later, after Sprig and Polly dragged Sasha's body to the kitchen and splashed her face with water, the three of them were sitting at the dining table and watched as Hop Pop peered into a book and cooked something… unnatural…

Sasha, with her fingers clamping her nose, had to ask. "Yo, Hop Pop! I know I said your cooking was like the fifth most dangerous things in the world, but I didn't think you were aiming for number one."

Hop Pop closed the book and went to the side, cutting apart some worms and pushing them into the bubbling foul liquid. "I'm not! This here's an old family recipe, passed down generation after generation from my great gam-gam."

Polly groaned. "It's for the annual Hop Luck competition."

"Hop Luck? What's that?" Sasha asked. Hop Pop paused his cooking to explain. "Well, you see Sasha, every year the folks of Wartwood hold a cooking competition known as Hop Luck. The winner of said competition is showered with praise and copper coins, while the loser—"

Hop Pop opens up the window, revealing a masked toad and a cheaply-made wooden cage. "—spends the night in the _SHAME CAGE._"

"And guess who spends the night every year in it." Sprig said sadly before the Plantars all collectively sighed.

Sasha looked at her foster family and frowned. The Plantars took her in when no one was willing to even talk to her. She'd be damned if she let them spend another year in a rickety old cage.

"Not this year!" Sasha shouted. "As if I'll let my favourite froggy family be humiliated like that! You guys are going to win this competition and so says Sasha!"

"Hop Pop, hand me that cookbook!" Sasha demanded though Hop Pop was in a bit of a stupor from watching Sasha's little speech. "Huh, wha? Oh, right! Here ya go, Sasha."

Sasha grabbed the cookbook and began flipping through the pages, looking at recipe after recipe. However, what began with restless motivation was quickly replaced with shock, confusion and uncertainty, before ending with grim certainty.

Sasha lowered the cookbook, facing the Plantars. "… Hop Pop, I'm pretty sure half of the recipes here can kill me."

"What?! Such nonsense, Sasha! We Plantars have been using these recipes for generations! Every year we enter the Hop Luck with a recipe from this cookbook."

"I can see why you guys lose every year then."

"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN?!"

Sasha closed the book and threw it behind her, causing Hop Pop to shriek in shock and ran over to catch it. She then grabbed some paper and a pencil, and started scribbling.

"Alright, guys! If you want to win this year, you have to try something new! Something bold! Something the world has never seen before! Something like—"

Sasha showed her crude drawing to everyone. "PIZZA!"

Sprig and Polly both awed at Sasha's depiction of a pizza, while Hop Pop, who had finally returned, frowned. The drawing was a circle with smaller circles in it, and a bunch of squiggly shapes.

"It doesn't look like much… Why not try a recipe from the cookbook instead? It's tried and true, after all." Hop Pop said, trying to convince the kids. Sasha however was having none of it and closed the book in his hands.

"It's tried and it doesn't work. We have to go with something fresh." Sasha explained. Hop Pop still didn't like the idea. "That's a lot of somethings, Sasha…"

"It's fine~! It'll definitely work! I mean, I've never actually made a pizza myself but I know the recipe. I learned it in cooking class."

Thinking about it, she remembered the time she was in said cooking class. At the moment, she partnered up with her best friends Anne and Marcy, and the three were to make a pizza from scratch. Though to be honest, Anne was the only one cooking while Sasha and Marcy stood by the side-lines, showing support. Well, Sasha was showing support. Marcy was twiddling with her phone and looking up memes.

Good thing the teacher wasn't judging them individually.

"Sasha, tell us what the pizza is!" Sprig asked in excitement, breaking Sasha out of her flashback. She shook her head and tried to remember the recipe.

"Well, a pizza is a flatbread with tomato sauce and cheese alongside other toppings. It's an Italian dish."

"What's an Italian?"

"Some dude with a funny moustache."

"Haha, nice."

Sasha scribbled some more notes on her drawing, labelling each part. "Okay, there are three major parts of a pizza; the dough, the sauce and the cheese. Toppings are extra and we can put anything on it."

"Anything?" Sprig asked. "How about pineapple? I think it'll go well with pizza."

"Yeah sure, why not?" Sasha replied. "Though, usual toppings are like green bell peppers and mushrooms. You guys don't happen to have bell peppers, do you?"

"Of course we have bell peppers. We're not savages." Hop Pop answered, the cookbook still in his hands.

Sasha folded the paper and placed it in her pocket. "Alright! Now we're getting somewhere! Let's get out there and win this competition!"

The Plantars and Sasha all cheered and broke off to get ready and procure the ingredients. Unbeknownst to them, the frog gods were not in their side that day and it was about to get a whole lot harder.

* * *

The Plantars and Sasha all head out for their first ingredient; the dough. While this usually would be the hardest ingredient to procure considering that none of them knew how to make bread, thankfully Wartwood has its own bakery, serving fresh breads every morning.

They walked into the bakery and witnessed the baker kneading some fresh dough on the table. While Sasha would question the sanitation of using one's feet to knead the dough, she decided not to bring it up.

"Hey, Mr Flour!" Sprig greeted, walking up to the counter. Said Mr Flour heaved the dough from the table and threw it into the oven, closing it. He turned towards Sprig.

"What brings the Plantars to my home?" He asked, his gruff voice masked his confusion. He looked up and also noticed Sasha, causing him to glare. "I see you brought the monster here too."

"The name's Sasha, by the way." She said back, somewhat annoyed. He replied with a grump.

"We're looking for some dough for the Hop Luck competition. We're kinda hoping you have any leftovers you could spare." Sprig explained.

Mr Flour scratched his chin, pondering. He then pointed at the young frog. "If you want the dough, the boy has to marry my daughter."

As if on cue, said daughter appeared magically next to Sprig. No one knew where she actually came from. She was also carrying a doll that looked a lot like Sprig.

She then slowly stabbed a stake through the dolls cotton heart, all while smiling.

"_Hiiiii, Sprriigg…_" She greeted with her grouchy voice.

"HAH! MADDIE! HAHA, D-DIDN'T SEE YOU THERE!" Sprig replied with fear. He didn't really know Maddie that well but he always did see her every time she stared at him unblinking from the distance. "Y-you scared me!"

"_You should be._" Maddie said, her face uncomfortably close to his. Sprig then began to hyperventilate, all while Mr Flour smiled as the two interacted.

"Ain't she adorable?" he asked. Sasha also watched the two younger frogs interact and nodded. "Yeah, sure. Now the deal's done."

"S-SASHA?!" Sprig cried, his body having moved back and away from Maddie. She, however, crept closer regardless.

Sasha waved. "It's fine. Your future is secured and we managed to get the dough. I'd say this is a win-win situation for us."

She then turned to the baker. "Now, the dough please."

Mr Flour cheered with a monotone yay, accepting the transaction and threw to them a ball of his dough. Sasha caught it easily and slipped it into her (Anne's) bag for safekeeping.

Having watched all of that, Hop Pop could help but interject. "Ya know, if we used one of the Plantars' old family recipes, we wouldn't have to sell Sprig…"

"Urgh, your recipes are lame, Hop Pop! Besides, we already got what we need. There's no stopping this pizza train!"

"PIZZA TRAIN!" Polly cheered.

"Thanks for the dough!" Sasha exclaimed before leaving, followed by the rest of the Plantars. Maddie waved her little doll's arm at them. "_Byeee, hubby…_"

Once out of the baker, Sasha smiled. "She seems nice. Creepy but obviously nice." Sprig, however, was still shaken.

* * *

The next ingredient in their list was cheese. Now, Sasha was pretty sure that cows don't exist in this world but she was genuinely surprised when she heard that cheese did exist! She didn't even think that frogs ate cheese; she kind of planned to capitalize a new food group.

So here she was at some old lady frog's house, walking towards a pen while a giant bull worm chased Sprig around who was, at the moment, wearing an outfit made of tied-together red leaves.

"Thanks for the help, monster! I know that dear ol' Brutus can be quite a handful!" The old lady frog exclaimed which from the sign, Sasha can assume her name to be Mrs Croaker.

"THE NAME'S SASHA!" She yelled in an annoyed tone.

While Sasha was on her way, Hop Pop and Polly stood in the side-lines, out of harm. "Ya know, my recipes don't even need cheese."

"NO OLD RECIPES!"

In order to get the cheese, Mrs Croaker had asked them to give her beloved bull worm a good walk, before moving it to its pen. Luckily for the Plantars, Sasha had devised a brilliant plan; wear a costume made of red leaves, act as bait and lead the bull worm into the pen.

"SPRIG! I'M READY!" Sasha yelled and waved, finally at the gate of the pen. Meanwhile, Sprig was being chased around by Brutus and a cheeky thumbs up.

Hearing the signal, he turned towards the pen, the worm right behind him. It released a wormy roar and Sprig quickened her pace. Once there, he ran into the pan through the opened gate, baiting Brutus as well.

Sasha, taking notice, immediately closed the gate and hopped away, leaving Sprig and the bull worm alone in the pen. But Sprig was not one to give up easily. He leapt over the fence with the grace of a gymnast, escaping the enclosed space. Brutus roared angrily, finally trapped and unable to follow him.

Sprig walked up to the rest of the Plantars, panting and wheezing with the occasional coughs. Despite being in the prime of his life, he quickly figured out that he was not built for endurance runs.

"Cough up the cheese, grandma." Sasha demanded, not bothering to sound polite.

Mrs Croaker threw the generously-sized cheese wheel towards Sasha, who caught it and placed it in the bag alongside the dough.

"You know, if you want, I can show you why my cheese is so delicious. It all starts at—"

"Please don't tell me how the cheese is made."

With the cheese obtained, the Plantars and Sasha left Mrs Croaker's place and Sprig got to remove his leaf-bait costume.

Sprig turned to Sasha, "So, where do we go next?"

Sasha pulled up her paper and checked off cheese, going down the list. "We need to get ourselves some basil for the sauce and maybe some other stuff on the way."

Crunching the paper back into her pocket, she fist-pumped with cheer. "Nothing's gonna stop this pizza train!"

"PIZZA TRAIN!" Both Polly and Sprig cheered together. Hop Pop only sighed in defeat.

* * *

"This is surprisingly easier than I thought." Sasha said out loud.

After getting the cheese and dough, their next targets were two things; basil for the sauce and toppings such as mushrooms and bell peppers. Considering the last two, she'd expect some sort of ridiculous trial like a riddle or being attacked by a pack of mole rats.

Instead, here she was, collecting the plants from the nearby woods peacefully. No attack, no riddles, no anything.

"You know with so much of this stuff all over the place, how come people don't just pick it themselves? Why sell them in the first place?" Sasha asked.

"Basils are usually within the territory of aphids but from the looks of it, we're just lucky they aren't here." Hop Pop answered. "Those critters can swarm a full-grown toad and bite their liver off in ten seconds flat!"

"Why the liver?"

"It's the best part of the body."

Sasha shrugged, accepting the response. A few minutes later, the Plantars and Sasha finally collected more than enough vegetables and herbs for their pizza. Sasha tried to fit it into her bag but it was too full.

"Dammit! The bags too full and the zipper won't close!" Sasha cursed, which surprisingly was her first since she got here.

"Sasha! Language!" Hop Pop scolded. Sasha ignored the old frog and prompted to simple carry her (Anne's) bag zipper-opened. It wasn't like she had much of a choice anyway.

"Alright, we got most of the ingredients. Now, all we need are a couple of tomatoes and we're golden." She said to the group, bringing out a map from her pocket. She had traded Hop Pop's dentures for it, a small price to pay for deliciousness. "You know, it's kinda funny but I haven't seen any tomatoes since I got here."

"Well, I've never tasted a tomato before." Sprig added. "In fact, I don't think anyone in town has ever tasted one."

Hop Pop opened up his cookbook and started flipping through the pages. "There's a reason for that, Sprig. They're in the 'Dangerous Vegetables' section. It suggests we go for prunes instead! Can't go wrong with prunes!"

Sasha chuckled. "Pssh, 'Dangerous Vegetables'. How dangerous can a bunch of tomatoes be?"

* * *

"ROOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAARRRRRRR!"

Sasha frowned deeply at the creature in front of her; sentient carnivorous plants with heads looking like tomatoes and mouths larger than her entire body. A dragonfly flew close to it accidentally and immediately fell victim to the tomato monster's jaws. As the tomato monster chomped up the insect, spittle flew all over the place, landing quite close to Sasha's feet.

"Ho—"

"—Ly—"

"— Tomato." Polly, Sprig and Sasha exclaimed in sequence, frozen at the spot.

One of the heads crept close to Sasha and roared in her face, this time she was sure some of the spit actually did hit her shirt. She shivered at the stain on her shoulder. The Plantar all simultaneously stepped back slowly. Hop Pop patted his book and whispered, "Ya know, this baby's got a lot of substitutes, all of which are delightfully harmless…"

"Couldn't hurt to hear a few options…" Sprig whispered back.

Sasha immediately took notice of their attempt and ran behind, blocking the frogs from leaving. "O-oh no, you don't! We're not leaving without those tomatoes!"

"Sasha, while I do respect your attempt to save us from the Shame Cage, _this is completely asinine!_" Hop Pop argued. "This can't all be worth it!"

"Yes, it is!" Sasha yelled, before lowering her voice. "The Shame Cage? It's not just that dingy old cage you guys have, it's in here; the heart. You reject the chance to win because you're so used to losing. You're afraid of the future, a life without the cage. Your heart? It's there, trapped in the Shame Cage."

"Me? I haven't been in the cage before and I'm not gonna let my favourite froggy family in it as well!" Sasha exclaimed, tightening the strap of her bag. She cracked her knuckles and neck, and glared at the tomato monsters. In turn, the tomatoes too glared at her with their non-existent eyes, sensing a flare of emotion.

"I'll show you what it means to win." She said in a serious tone. With her knees bent, she pushed herself forward and ran straight towards the non-monstrous tomatoes. The toothed ones grinned and moved forward, their vines in tow.

One vine attempted to hit Sasha from the side but she quickly ducked, the hit missing. Another attempt was made but lower, and she jumped over. Few shot themselves toward her and missed, planting into the ground. The vines all came after her but Sasha was relentless. She dodged every single one with determination.

The tomato heads have had enough and personally went front to gnaw on her. She realized and moved back, causing one of the heads to crash into the ground, knocking itself out. Another head saw an opportunity and shot forward, hungry for flesh. Immediately, she ran around the downed head with the other following her closely.

While she was chased, the vines had also attacked her from all sides. Some even came out of the ground, having missed earlier. To be hit would spell failure and Sasha was not one to accept losing. Much like before, she dodged all attempts, all while serpentining around them. Finally, she had successfully reached the succulent and juicy tomatoes at the base of the tomato monster.

"SASHA, LOOK OUT!" Sprig warned from afar. Despite reaching the base, the head that chased after her did not give up and was still pining after her. Sasha looked at the head with wide eyes, its teeth just mere feet away from her.

In the end, however, it was her win. Sasha smirked knowingly.

The vines, both the independent ones and the heads, all snagged itself and tightened. The sheer force caused the chasing head to immediately stop painfully and after a few seconds, fell down lifelessly.

From the edges, the Plantars all awed in surprise, followed by a loud cheer. Sprig beamed with the largest smile he could pull off. "OH MY GOSH, THAT WAS AMAZING!"

"THAT WAS The GREATEST THING I HAD EVER SEEN IN MY ENTIRE LIFE!" Polly cheered as well, louder than Sprig.

Even Hop Pop was left slack-jawed at the demonstration. He couldn't even form full sentences.

Sasha took the praise shamelessly. "Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm pretty cool myself." She blushed. "Now come on, let's grab ourselves some tomatoes and we'll be on our way."

At that impromptu moment, the frog gods have decided to enact their will; the third head which they had largely ignored smashed onto the ground with its mouth opened, swallowing Sasha with one gulp.

A few moments later, everyone screamed.

"AAAAAHHHHHH, SASHA JUST GOT EATEN BY A TOMATO!" Hop Pop panicked.

"AAAAAHHH, WHAT ARE WE GONNA DO?!" Polly screamed from her bucket.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH— Wait, this seems oddly familiar…" Sprig contemplated but quickly disregarded the thought. While they were panicking, the last living tomato head started twitching uncontrollably and having spasms. It roared out in pain.

Sprig noticed immediately and turned to Hop Pop. "Hop Pop, Sasha's still in there and fighting! What are we supposed to do?!"

Hop Pop frantically flipped through the pages of his cookbook. "I don't know! All the book says is that tomatoes are really delicious and—" Suddenly, Hop Pop had an epiphany. Apparently, that was also shared with the two kids. The frog gods had decided to throw a bone at them.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Hop Pop asked his grandkids with a confident look.

"If you're thinking that we eat the tomato monster raw and bloody like a bunch of hungry wild animals, then yeah." Polly replied.

"Alright, Plantars! On three!" Sprig slid his hand forward. Polly placed her fin on Sprig's backhand, followed by Hop Pop. "One!"

"Two!"

"THREE!" All three pulled their hands upwards together and sped off towards the tomato monster.

Thanks to Sasha's previous assault, most, if not all of the vines that once protected the tomatoes were immobilized and unable to stop the charge. This allowed the Plantars to easily reach the base of the plant, where the tomato was too preoccupied with Sasha being an unwilling dinner in its plant throat.

"RAAAAAAGGHHH!" The Plantars all screamed, biting into the tomato flesh.

* * *

Meanwhile, within the throat of the tomato head, Sasha was furiously kicking the sticky, wet walls that were squeezing her. She wouldn't admit it but she was a bit embarrassed that she didn't notice the third head.

With the slime covering her entire body, she easily flowed through the oesophagus. She somehow managed to stop halfway through, her back against the slimy wall. Good news is that it wasn't as dark in here as she thought it'd be.

"Huh, deja vu…" Sasha mindlessly said. Nonetheless, she quickly threw away those thoughts and continued kicking the wall.

What she didn't realize however was that for every kick she did, she slowly started losing her grip on the wall. The slimy tomato juices made the surface slippery and the kicks were pushing her off little by little.

With one more kick, the slime finally won and Sasha lost her grip entirely. "W-WOOOAAHHH!" She yelped and screamed, falling deeper into the tomato. Her bag, covered in thick tomato juices, slid off her back easily and tumbled down alongside her.

On her way down, she noticed a bright and bubbly green liquid at the bottom. "STOMACH ACID!" She screamed.

Sasha pulled all the breaks and pushed herself against the wall with all of her might, stopping just before the end. Her grip continued to loosen and she was hanging on to dear life.

Her bag, however, did not care.

"AHHHHHHH!" Sasha shrieked, witnessing the fall of her best friends backpack. Frantically, she shot out her arm and grabbed the bag by the bottom, saving it.

"P-pfew…" She sighed in relief. Though it didn't last long as the unzipped bag flew open, dropping its hard-earned contents into the acid below.

Her left eye twitched. "… ARRRRRGGHHH—!"

* * *

"MMRRGGHHH!" A muffled yell of anger and despair was heard from outside. Sprig bit off another piece of the tomato monster, finding it quite tasty.

"Sasha's in trouble! Hurry, Plantars!" Sprig said after swallowing, taking off another bite.

Sprig was doing the best he could, chewing faster than ever. He has to admit, tomatoes were really delicious. In fact, they were the most delicious thing he'd ever tasted in his little froggy life. While this was a rescue mission, he couldn't help but enjoy the meal.

Hop Pop tried to help however but since he sold his dentures for the map, he was having a hard time chewing the touch exterior. Fortunately for him, the innards were much softer, making it easy for his gums to break the red flesh apart.

Polly. She was literally swimming through the plant like a mole digging through earth. Who knew a polliwog like her could eat this much?

After several aggravating seconds, they finally managed to eat enough of the tomato monster that it fell down and died instantly. They continued to eat however, both to save their dear friend and because it tasted really good.

"There! I see her!" Sprig said, starting to get full. Despite that, he pushed on and chewed, eating out a hole large enough for Sasha to crawl through.

Which she did, though with a horrified face.

Giving her space, she stood up and stared at the now-empty backpack. Sprig cheered happily however and jumped for a hug. "Sasha! You're safe! I'm so glad you're okay! " Polly too joined the hug, while Hop Pop merely stood at the side, smiling.

Sprig and Polly let go of Sasha after a few seconds and noticed that she was looking quite grim. Sprig looked at her, worried. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Sasha turned upwards and away from the bag, towards the Plantars, all of which who were looking at her with worried expressions. She gulped. "… It's gone."

"What's gone?" Hop Pop questioned.

"A-all of the ingredients. All that we worked so hard for! Gone! I-it fell into the stomach acid and got ruined!" Instinctively, her grip tightened on the bag.

"… RRRAAAGHH!" And with a furious yell, she threw the bag and walked away, stopping a few feet ahead. She dropped and sat down on the ground, looking at the grass sway with the wind.

Sprig watched as his BF sulked at the field and wanted to console her but he was stopped by Hop Pop, who shook his head and went forward instead.

Hopadiah Plantar strolled to the human vagabond's side and took a seat next to her. He gave it a few seconds to warm up the situation, before finally speaking up. "So… crazy day it's been, huh? Hehehe…"

No response. Hop Pop briefly frowned. "Ya know, with all these here tomatoes we got, we can make quite a lot of gold in the weekly farmers' market! How 'bout I bring ya this week? Huh?"

"No offence, Hop Pop but you suck at this." Sasha replied, still watching the grass.

"Yep, I thought so." He responded in kind, giving another couple of seconds of silence. "We don't have to win the Hop Luck, Sasha. It's fine! So what if we get last place again? We Plantars are used to failure! And every year, we always get right back up and try again. That's the Plantar way!"

"Yeah, well it's not the Sasha way!" She argued, trying her best to control her tone. "I really wanted you guys to win this, just once! And I thought I got everything in the bag, but nope! Fate just had to get in the way and ruined everything! And we don't even have enough time to cook anything!"

"It's just… everything was working out so well and I didn't think it'd fail so easily. Guess Sasha really is just a fool." She sighed and whispered to herself. "_Just like how I got us in this mess._"

Hop Pop patted her shoulder. "It ain't your fault. All-day, I haven't been a lick helpful to ya in any way. I was so caught up in the old ways that I just didn't care if I had won so long as it was through tradition. It's my fault you had to try so hard."

"I'm sorry I wasn't supportive of ya. Here, have some tomato." Hop Pop apologized as he held out his hand, showing some mushed-up red tomato innards.

Sasha stared at Hop Pop and his tomato mush and smiled. She reached out and grabbed some, accepting his offer, before placing them in her mouth. Immediately after, she tasted an explosion of sweet and sour flavour, so delicious and so fresh.

"Oh wow, this stuff is really good! They're even better than the tomatoes back in my place!" She praised, grabbing some more. A few seconds later, all of the tomato mush in Hop Pop's possession was eaten by Sasha, who truly did enjoy her meal despite circumstances.

Hop Pop clapped, attracting attention. "Now then, let's collect the rest of the tomatoes and head on back! If we sell them at a decent price, I bet we'll be well off for the next two weeks."

"But what are we supposed to do about Hop Luck? We don't have anything to cook anymore." Polly injected.

Everyone started thinking on how to deal with their dilemma and a few moments later, Sasha snapped her fingers. "We could reheat that stew of yours. Maybe add some salt or whatever to make it somewhat decent."

"It won't be enough to get us out of last place but at least it's something." Hop Pop added.

Just then, Sprig had a brilliant idea. "Oh, oh, I got a plan!"

Listening to his plan, the Plantars grinned confidently and went off to collect the rest of the tomatoes before heading back home.

* * *

Nighttime fell in Wartwood and so, the annual Hop Luck competition began. Folks from all across town came over to participate for a chance of copper and praise, at the risk of being placed in the Shame Cage. A risk they were all willing to take however, as the past few years, the results were always the same; the Plantars would get last place, guaranteed.

"Welcome all, folks of Wartwood, to the annual Hop Luck competition! Let's begin the tasting!" Mayor Toadstool cheered, though selfishly looking forward to trying out various dishes for free. He began from the left, enjoying every minute of the tasting as much as he could.

That is until he reached the last participant.

"Ah, the Plantars. Nice to see you decided to join us this year again. And I noticed y'all brought with you the monster." Mayor Toadstool greeted with a hint of sarcasm. He never looked forward to a Plantar meal but he still had to taste it anyway, to keep up appearances and all.

"It's Sasha, by the way—"

"Don't care." He dismissively waved off. "Well, let's get this over with. Toadie, bring me a glass of water and a bucket. You know, just in case." Toadie saluted and ran off, bringing back what was asked.

The Plantars had hidden their dish behind a cloche lid and Sprig momentously decided to add some pizzazz. "Behold, our Plantar dish that will rock your world!"

Sasha lifted the lid and beneath it was the foul stew Hop Pop earlier today, though it had some red cubes floating around. Mayor Toad belched in disgust, poking the stew with his spoon.

"What's this red stuff anyway?" He asked. Sprig moved forward and easily answered. "They're tomatoes!"

"Tomatoes, huh…" Mayor Toadstool stared as he grabbed a spoonful of the stew.

Toadie stood next to him, bucket in hand, and the mayor ate the spoonful wordlessly. He swished and gurgled it inside his mouth and for the first time in history, swallowed a Plantar dish!

"Why, this is the best dish you've ever came up with, Plantars!" He praised, no hint of sarcasm found. Sasha, Hop Pop, Polly and Sprig all cheered, happy with the response. Unfortunately, it didn't last long. "Though, it's still the worst dish in the competition, so tough luck."

With zero sympathy, he slammed a ribbon onto the dish, the words 'Good Grief' etched onto it. The Plantars and Sasha expressed their disappointment with 'aww's. "Thus, this marks the end of this year's Hop Luck competition! Carl, bring out the Shame Cage, if you please. And Plantars? You know what to do."

The Plantars and Sasha collectively sighed as they walked towards the Shame Cage. However, one of them showed no disappoint; Sprig Plantar. "Cheer up, guys! Sure we came in last again, but thanks to Sasha's out-of-this-world ideas, we've done the best we've ever done! Next year, we'll definitely do better!"

"Ya know, he's right!" Hop Pop agreed. "I'm starting to like trying out new ideas for once, so long as they ain't dangerous or nothing."

Sasha snorted. "Hah, don't worry about that, Hop Pop. I think I'm going to lay low on the ideas for now. There's no point in winning if you get killed."

Once at the Shame Cage, the masked toad revealed to be known as Carl opened up the door and the Plantars all climbed in, accustomed to the whole deal. Sasha watched as they got themselves cosy in the cage and in a single thought, rubbed her arm in embarrassment and asked. "Hey, uh, this is going to sound weird and all but… do you guys think I can spend the night in there with you? I know, I know, it sounds dumb and all, I probably shouldn't have asked—"

Hop Pop turned to Carl the masked toad. "How 'bout it, Carl? Think there's enough room?"

Carl shrugged. "The more the merrier." He said in a gruff tone.

"Woohoo!" Sprig cheered. "Come on in, you crazy kid!"

"You know I'm older than you, right?"

"Haha, yeah."

Sasha smirked and walked up and into the cage, taking a nice seat next to Hop Pop. The cage door closed, letting her legs dangle between the bars and Carl, with strength unbefitting of someone with his stature, hoisted the cage upwards with its inhabitants.

"Well, the pizza might've been a knock-up but at least I got to share this experience with you g—" Splat! A piece of swamp mud landed itself onto Sasha's unsuspecting face. She quickly wiped it off, disgusted and shocked. "Eww, what the heck?!"

"Oof, forgot to tell you about the Shame Nuggets…" Sprig winced. The family and Sasha looked down and found themselves surrounded by the folks in town, all throwing mud, slime and other unmentionable solid-fluids in their general direction. Mr Flour and his daughter were amongst the crowd, the latter pointing at Sprig.

"Hehe, that's my son-in-law!" He cheered. Maddie beamed in her usual creepy manner.

Meanwhile, Sasha thought of her situation once more. To spend the night in a suspended cage and getting pelted by mud… "Is there a way to get out prematurely?" Sasha asked, hopeful.

"Nope! You're stuck here with us till tomorrow's sunrise." Sprig answered, crushing all hope with a friendly face.

Polly on the hand shook her fin in anger. "YOU CALL THAT A THROW?! MY GREAT-GRANDMOTHER CAN THROW BETTER THAN YOU, AND SHE'S DEAD!"


	6. A Scone's Tale

Dirty old open markets, the ones with torn tents and weirdly cheerful farm folk, were the last places one would expect Sasha to be at. In fact, even she herself had to admit she'd rather be caught dead than be in such a place. And yet, she can't help but feel drawn to it. Like an old memory, she hadn't touched for so long.

Which was why she wasn't bothered even once while accompanying the Plantars to the weekly town marketplace.

"Here we are! The Wartwood's weekly marketplace!" Hop Pop exclaimed, his hands firmly on Bessie's reins.

Behind the larger-than-average snail was an old wooden cart, carrying various goods and products such as market equipment, tomatoes from a man-eating tomato plant, a whole lot of beans and turnips, and three weird kids who decided to ride the cart instead of the back of the snail-like a normal person.

Sasha looked out from the cart, examining the marketplace. It was currently early in the morning, so everyone was still setting up shop and getting ready for the day. The area itself was quite spacious and located at the edge of town, near the main road, leading to other towns.

During her stay with the Plantars, Sasha tried to find any information about the magical music box that sent her to this other froggy world but to no avail. None of the books she had read held any information about the music box but she did learn some other relevant stuff; info about the world she's in.

Sasha was not a heavy reader so the knowledge she possessed was limited. However, she learned that the valley she was stuck in was a lot bigger than she had first thought and was home to several other towns, not just Wartwood. The weekly market here invited those from other towns, either to buy produce or to sell them. So there were a few familiar faces and a few she'd never seen before.

About a minute or so later, they finally arrived at their rented spot. "Alright, kids, time to unpack. Sprig, help me set up the tent, will ya?"

"You got it, Hop Pop." Sprig replied instantaneously.

Hop Pop nodded. "Sasha, unload all our vegetables we want to sell. And do be careful with them tomatoes. They're our moneymakers, right there."

"Yeah yeah, I got it." Sasha responded nonchalantly, grabbing a crate of turnips. The old frog then turned to the youngest. "And Polly, go help Sasha. You know where to put the stuff."

"Gotcha, Hop Pop!" Polly saluted, hopping out of her bucket and towards the only human.

It took them less than 10 minutes or so to set up their little tent-store. Usually it would've taken them twice as long but having an extra pair of hands helped a lot. Crates stacked upon one another acted as a makeshift counter, with a long wooden board on top. The produce they brought with them surrounded the counter, placed all neat and tidy. On the counter itself had a rusty green fishing box, reused as the cash register.

Hop Pop was standing on an empty crate, hanging a sign on one of the tent's stilts. "And there… we… go." He climbed down, admiring his work. The sign was carved with the words '_Plantars' Fresh Produce_' on it and underneath was a smaller sign, though the words were painted in bright red as '_Tomatoes For Sale_' instead.

"We're ready to open!" He exclaimed with a smile. "We're a few minutes earlier than usual, so why don't you three go around for a bit? Be sure to come back in half an hour!"

"Alright/Okay, Hop Pop!" "See ya later, old man." Sprig, Polly and Sasha respectively said. The trio left their stand just after, Polly sitting in her bucket of water.

Walking by the nearby stalls, Sprig turned to Sasha, curious. "So, where do you want to go first?"

Sasha shrugged without a thought. It wasn't like she knew any of the shops here. "Dunno. I haven't had breakfast yet though. Why don't you pick the way?"

"Well…" Sprig tapped his chin, thinking. "Let's go walk by town to get something to eat. I know a place!"

Sasha just shrugged again. Again, she didn't know the place that well so she wasn't in the best position to judge. Plus, she trusted Sprig. If he said that this place was good, then it was good, no question. Sprig wasn't as naïve as he made everyone else think he was and Sasha noticed.

"Lead the way, man." She told him. With an enthusiastic smile, he marched forward, Sasha and Polly in tow.

* * *

A few minutes of walking later, they have finally arrived at Sprig's recommended eatery; a small and quaint café built into a giant tree stump. A unique sign shaped like a teacup was hung by a horizontal pole outside. The stump had several windows on its side with a single more noticeable one just above the front door. Said door was also unique; two hearts decorated the wooden entrance, making it stand out.

"Welcome to Felicia's Tea Shoppe!" Sprig declared. "I sometimes come here when we visit town. Food's a bit pricey though. But…" Sprig pulled out a small leather pouch from his vest pocket. "I can afford it this time."

Sprig pushed the door wide open and entered with a skip, followed by Sasha and Polly, the latter in her bucket. The resident human looked around in the surrounding area, somewhat amazed by the fanciness of the place. It wasn't really that fancy by human standards but it was still quite up there; pink decorative wallpaper, patterned oak floorboards, large toadstool tables and chairs, expensive-looking china and the most obvious case, amphibious people dressing up all fancy and the like.

Sasha whistled. "Whooo, nice choice there, Sprig. Have you ever been here too, Polly?" she asked the polliwog in her arms. Polly shrugged with her little fins. "Eh, nope. Sprig sometimes brings me scones though. They're really good!"

"Really good?"

"Yep! I can't wait to try one, warm and fresh. Not like the cold and sad ones Sprig brings back. I mean, they're still good…" Polly proudly said without a hint of shame, though her tone changing by the end.

Before they could grab a table, however, a yellowish and femininely slender frog bumped into them. She had red braided hair that adorned a tiara of flowers in it. She too was wearing fancy clothing, more precisely a green dress. She nearly dropped a wooden plate with what one could assume to be scones.

"Oh hello there, Sprig. Didn't see you there, you little scamper." She said in an affectionate tone. "I'm guessing you'd want a table for one, right?"

"Nope! This time, a table for three please, Mrs Sundew." He requested.

"A table for three?" Mrs Sundew, full name Felicia Sundew, inquisitively repeated. "I see, that means the whole family is here, huh? Ooo hoo hoo, I'd love to finally meet that little sister of yours you've been talking about."

"She's at the back in her bucket." He pointed out. "Sasha's there too."

Felicia raised a brow. "Sasha? Who's Sash-AAAAAAAA!?"

The slender frog cried in fear upon looking at Sasha, dropping her plate of scones, causing Polly to wail in dramatic fashion as she watched the baked goods fall onto the dirty; actually dirtier, ground. Felicia stared at the teenager human girl with horror in her eyes and a finger pointing directly at the girl. Stammering, she almost shouted the town's trademarked 'MONSTER!' shriek of fear but Sprig was light on his feet.

"W-WAIT! SHE'S WITH US!" Sprig shouted, quickly defusing the situation. Felicia looked at Sprig, her mouth agape. Her expression slowly turned to something akin to anger but the fear was still there. "YOUNG MAN, EXPLAIN YOURSELF!"

"Uh…" He rubbed the back of his head with guilt. Immediately after, he grabbed Felicia's arm and dragged her into the kitchen, where mutterings and whispered occurred. Sasha wasn't sure exactly what they were talking about but she was definitely sure that her little froggy BFF was desperately trying to explain who she was. She was grateful but not surprised, somewhat used to people here screaming in her face.

A few seconds of raucous and inexplicit mumbles later, Sprig and Felicia walked out through the kitchen door, the former with a big smile on his face and two thumbs up while the latter had a somewhat strained smile instead. The two walked back to Sasha and Polly, the polliwog still distraught over the broken scones.

"Sasha, meet Mrs Sundew. She owns the café." He introduced. "Mrs Sundew, meet Sasha. She's the human living in our basement."

"Hey." "Charmed." The two greeted, at least trying to sound sincere. Whether or not Sprig noticed didn't matter much, as he continued on anyway. "So, I'm showing Sasha around town for a bit since this is her first time here. Well… more like second time but the last one didn't count."

As he finished talking, Sprig noticed that Sasha and Felicia were still on edge around each other; Sasha not seemingly caring while Felicia looking a little tense. Even though he was glad that he managed to avoid a huge outburst in the middle of town (and have an angry mob chase after them), he realized that the situation wasn't really getting any better.

"Uh, Mrs Sundew?" Sprig called. "Do you still have a table for three?"

"Huh? Oh right, a table." Felicia replied, breaking out of the awkward silence. "Right this way, Sprig. And bring your, eh… human, with you."

Sasha, Sprig and Polly all followed Felicia to their table before leaving to serve them some treats. The table was located right next to a window, giving Sasha a nice view of the outside. The chairs were a bit small for her but the view pretty much made up for it. Frogs, toads and other amphibious humanoids walked all over the place outside, all going on with their lives, unhindered by her observation.

She also quickly realized that the windows were a two-way view when a child from across the street started crying upon seeing her. Sasha quickly ducked from the window and silently decided to spend the rest of her time here leaning instead of sitting upright.

Felicia returned and placed a wooden plate onto their table, carrying her valley-famous scones. "Here you are, you two; one serving of newly-baked scones, each." She said, pushing two plates in front of Sprig and Polly. The siblings salivated like hungry dogs and immediately grabbed a piece. Though, they were forced to blow on it since it was still piping hot.

"As for your friend here…" Felicia turned to Sasha, who was leaning back on her small chair. She placed a plate in front of the teen. "The scones are my restaurant's speciality but I'm not exactly sure your kind can eat such a thing."

Sasha raised an eyebrow. My kind, she said? While it is, in fact, true that humans and amphibians had different diets, that doesn't mean she can eat what they ate. From where she came from, she was sure frogs didn't eat mushrooms or bake cakes. Wordlessly, she grabbed a scone from her plate and bit into it, tasting inquisitively.

After a few chews, she swallowed with no complication and opened her eyes, showing stars. "… Holy heck that was the best thing I've tasted since I got here."

Felicia smiled, her nervousness lessened. "Oh, I'm glad you liked it! I was so worried since I was afraid you might die from it or something. Hahahaha!" She jokingly said.

"Ha!" Sasha laughed. "The only food that's ever tried to kill me was Hop Pop's cooking." She said, eating the scones as fast as a vacuum cleaner.

Felicia waved, blushing. "Ohoho, well I'm glad you like it. Dung beetles are difficult to find but I do try to manage."

It took only a fraction of a millisecond for Sasha to realize the main ingredient of these scones; dung beetles. Named so due to their nature of collecting and rolling animal poop into a giant ball, in which they'd store later as food. So according to the laws of conservation of mass, if dung beetles eat poop and these scones are made of dung beetles, then that would mean Sasha was eating poop.

With the thought cementing itself into her mind like a really annoying snake, it took all of her willpower to _not_ spit out the food and dip her head in the sink. Instead, she simply smiled awkwardly, her cheeks full of delicious flavourful scone mush.

"Are you okay, dear? You don't look so well." Felicia looked at her worriedly. Sasha nodded with a full mouth, trying her best to at least look normal.

"Oh, I'm glad! But, uh…" Felicia pointed at her own cheek. "You don't seem to be chewing. Is there a matter?"

Sasha, with her eyes wide open, pupils shrunk, a puckered mouth and the face sweating nervously, made a slight disagreeing shake of her head and a grunting sound.

"Oh, if that's the case, you should eat up! My scones are also known to be quite healthy." Felicia advised, complimenting herself on the way. She then stared at Sasha, waiting for the human teen to chew and swallow.

With what's left of her willpower, Sasha did exactly so. For every bite, she felt the crunch of an insectoid's exoskeleton which of course constantly reminded her this was a dung beetle. Tears started to swell in her eyes and even though the scones themselves were incredible, she, unfortunately, could not enjoy them.

After a few chews, she struggled and swallowed, looking somewhat traumatized. Sasha breathed in and out heavily, her face wet with sweat and tears. She glanced at her side and watched as Polly and Sprig gouged those things like no tomorrow.

Oh, she wished she could've forgotten it all.

"O-oh boy, that was deeeee-licious. I'm sure glad I t-tasted that." Sasha exclaimed to Felicia, her tone not sounding quite truthful.

Felicia clapped her hands. "I'm so happy to know that! You are quite polite for a monster, aren't cha?"

"… I-it's Sasha. I'm a human."

"Oops, silly me. Sasha the human, not a monster." Felicia slid the plate closer. "Why don't you take another one?"

"ON SECOND THOUGHT—" Sasha interrupted, pushing the plate towards Sprig and Polly, the latter of which deciding to chase after it. "I'M A BIT FULL FROM THE SCONES! WHY DON'T YOU TELL ME MORE ABOUT YOURSELF INSTEAD?"

Sprig stopped eating, entering the conversation. "Oo oo, why don't you tell us about your restaurant, Mrs Sundew?"

"My restaurant, huh?" Felicia tapped her sticky frog chin. "Well, the restaurant is a pretty big part of my life but it's my scones that's my pride and joy."

"Your scones?" Sasha asked.

"Yup, that's right." Felicia looked back into her memories, where her journey to becoming a restaurant owner truly began. Many, many years back, she was but a young femme frog. She was like any other of her age; arrogant, daring and full of expectations.

"Back when I was just over Sprig's age, I used to travel from town to town as a hired maid." Felicia said, thinking of a caravan she stayed in, cluttered with junk of various shapes and sizes. "I would go from house to house, providing my service to clean the place and get paid. It's a pretty simple job."

"Unfortunately, my caravan had a broken wheel so I needed some extra money to fix. Thus, I chose a relatively simple job for easy pay." She sheepishly spoke. She remembered how she walked up to a nice place in her little dirty overalls and a ruined broom, and confidently knocked. "The people there weren't kind to strangers, however. So getting a job wasn't as easy as it looked."

"But the one store that did accept me changed my life forever." Felicia said fondly.

* * *

_A dried-up and old-looking newt walked out of the store, wearing well-suited clothing and a cane in hand. He inspected the young Felicia, who was frozen in place by fear._

"_You, girl." The newt said with a rough tone. "What's your name?"_

"_Felicia, sir!"_

"_Felicia, huh…" He inquisitively scratched his chin. "Well, the named Jeremiah. What do you want? "_

_Sweat drooped from her forehead. "I'm here to provide you with my services! A-as a maid, sire!"_

"_A maid? Heh, with that crummy look of yours, I doubt you'd be able to do anything right. Go somewhere else, girl." He dismissively remarked, before walking back into his store. However, he was stopped by Felicia, who pulled the handle. _

"_Sire, I assure you I can do it! My skills are not second-rate!" She boasted defensively. An easy job was all she needed to get the cash and leave town, and she won't have some random newt insult her ability. _

_Jeremiah opened the door once more, staring at the young Felicia. He thought about it for a few seconds but did not look satisfied. "You're a maid, right?"_

"_Yes, sire."_

"_Will you be following everything I say, without question?"_

_She saluted. "I c-can definitely do it, sire!"_

"_Then throw away that old broom of yours." He said, walking back inside. The young Felicia blinked, looking at her precious broom. Sure, it may have seen better days but it was such a precious tool to her. _

_However, the newt returned while she contemplated, throwing at her a bunch of cleaning supplies. For example, a nicer broom and a mop. "Here, take this. Come inside."_

_The young Felicia took the supplies without question. Being a hired maid, she was used to doing chores and whatnot. It wasn't a skill to be proud of but to Felicia, she did believe it was above average. With the broom in hand, she followed the old newt into the building and was shocked by what she saw._

_Walls of glittering gold and lacquered red oak floors. Toadstool tables, strategically placed throughout the room, gave a sense of class and etiquette while still maintaining its spacious feeling. The whole place was lit by chandeliers with bright glowing mushrooms up top, giving the room a yellowish hue. The only thing that stood out of place was herself and her dirty uniform. _

"_Sweep the floors, then mop it till not a speck of dirt is left! Once done, call me to check. I'll be in the back."_

_Young Felicia nodded and went off to work without complaint. She swept with the broom and mopped with the mop as best as she could, certain of the potential outcome. _

_Many minutes later, she wiped the sweat off her forehead, sure that she cleaned up to his standards. The floor wasn't just spotless, it was as clear as a mirror! Just as she finished, the Jeremiah walked up to her and inspected the surroundings. _

"_Hmm…" He sounded. "It's… too clean."_

_Felicia blinked. "What?"_

* * *

"What?" Back in the present, Sasha exclaimed in surprise. Felicia giggled amusingly at her response. "I know. I was surprised too. I've never been yelled at for making something too clean."

"So he was a slob?" Polly asked innocently. In return, Felicia shook her head. "No no, he wasn't a slob or anything like that. He was just… practical."

_Back in the past-slash-flashback, Felicia bent backwards in shock. "T-t-too clean?!"_

"_It's too clean! You wasted energy, time and resources! How are you gonna able to do the other chores if you're too tired to move?!" He scolded. _

_He threw a rag into her hands, still shocked and shaking. "Wipe the tables next! And do it PROPERLY!"_

"_Eep!" the young Felicia shrieked and ran off, wiping the tables frantically as the old newt watched. Once done, he checked her work again and just like before, he scolded her for doing it too vigorously and damaging the toadstool's surface. _

_No matter how hard she tried, he would always find some way to be angry at her. And with every interaction, her frustration bubbled and built up, slowly and surely about to overflow. It was just a matter of time. _

Once more in the present, Sprig took another scone and popped it in his mouth. "Shounds toughf."

"Oh, it was. He was very critical if my work, either shouting at me for doing too much or shouting at me for doing too little." She said back, laughing a little. "Haha, it was torture. I nearly gave up too."

"But you didn't." Sasha added, unconsciously eating a scone herself despite the dung beetles.

"A hungry stomach is the biggest motivator." She answered. "But truthfully, there was just something about the place that kept me there."

_After a month of back-breaking and stressful work later, she looked over all of her hard work. The floors were swept just right, the tables were wiped perfectly, all of the windows were as clean as a whistle, heck she even removed the dust from the chandeliers._

_This time, she was definitely sure that old coot would finally appreciate her work. _

"_Uh, sire? A-are you there?" Young Felicia questioned, though she found herself unanswered. The kitchen was cleaner than a pollywog's bottom and smelled nicer too. It had all of the basic necessities such as a stove, a freezer and a working sink, bordered by a line of countertops. _

_In the middle however was an island counter and on it, a plate of short cylindrical biscuits underneath a glass cloche lid. They were glowing as if magic coursed through them. _

_The young Felicia stared in awe and stepped closer. Her stomach grumbled angrily and tempted her to try just one bite. With one hand lifting the lid, the other crept closer and closer… _

"_I see you found the scones." A voice came from behind her, scaring her. She nearly dropped the lid but managed to quickly put it back with a ting. Young Felicia turned around to meet Jeremiah who somehow appeared without her noticing._

"_I-I-I—"_

"_No need. I can tell you wanted to try them but you could've just asked." He exclaimed with a disappointed tone. Before he could continue, however, Felicia's stomach grumbled once more, causing him to raise an eyebrow and for her to blush, embarrassed._

_He sighed and walked pass Felicia and towards the scones, lifting the lid and taking one. "Here, try one."_

_Hesitantly, she took the scone from his hand and took a small bite. In fact, a small bite was all it took and Felicia's taste buds exploded with flavour. She stared at her slightly bitten piece and instantly, she gruesomely gouged it like a wild animal._

_As if she had a blackout, she looked at her crumb-covered hands and for the first time in a long time, felt truly satisfied with her meal. Realizing she wasn't alone, Felicia turned towards Jeremiah with an embarrassed blush. _

_Jeremiah, on the other hand, smiled. "Heh, I see you liked that, didn't cha?"_

"_I-it… was delicious."_

_He tipped his cane. "Glad to be of service." He then strolled past her and opened the door to the dining hall. "Come here, let me show you something."_

_Felicia walked slowly to him, looking out the door. She stared at the same dining hall she had been cleaning for the past month, all of the hard work she's done. _

"_I already gave you enough pay to move and yet, you kept coming back. I know you came here for some easy copper but you refused to leave." He leaned to her. "So why are you here?"_

_Felicia opened her mouth to answer, feeling it was quite simple and yet, she couldn't find her words. Why did she stay? She already fixed her wheel after a week of work. She could've left any time she wanted. _

"_I…" She gaped. "I don't know…"_

_Jeremiah grunted. "You know, you always come by to clean up the place after the restaurant's closed, so you never did hear what the folks here say. And by golly, are they the chatty bunch."_

_Felicia thought back about her interactions, how people here treated her. When she first came, they didn't seem to like her that much but after a month of working there, she found herself unintentionally easing into the community. People were nicer and there were fewer stares and glares, they just weren't vocal about it. _

"_A restaurant is more than just a place to serve food. It's a place of new experiences, where people all over town meet and chat. They learn new things about one another, experience new ways to enjoy life and understand what it means to try new things. The food here, it's just a spark but it's the spark the folks needed." _

"_They appreciate your work and treat you better. You might have not noticed and I might have been harsh to you, but you do good work and you deserve to know that. You also deserve to do better than you ever before."_

_The young Felicia turned away from Jeremiah and looked upon the dining-room she had painstakingly cleaned. She could hear the voices of town folk conversing with each other, the stories they tell and the laughs they share. Outside of the restaurant, everything was back to normal but here, the atmosphere changed. People would dress up nicely, act polite and mannerly for no other reason but a good meal._

_To be a different person and try new and exciting things. That's what a restaurant truly was, is and will be._

* * *

Felicia opened her eyes, finally finished with her tale of growth. She took a look at her patrons who had listened to her story, in particular, were the three children in front. Sasha was eating her scones like it was the end of the world, too enamoured by the story that she didn't even care about the dung beetles. Polly was in awe, so surprised and amazed that she honestly forgot about the half-eaten baked good in her fins. Sprig, on the other hand, was crying tender tears, both on his face and in his heart.

"I see you all enjoyed my story-telling. I feel flattered." Felicia said with a humorous tone. Polly raised her fins and shouted with vigour. "THAT WAS THE BEST STORY EVER!"

"I admit, that was pretty cool, Mrs Sundew." Sasha praised, taking another bite. Sprig, with tears in his eyes and a trembling jaw, just had to ask. "W-wHa DiD yOu Do AfTeRwArDs?!"

"Well, I decided to stay and became a full-time employee. Gave up the whole maid thing." Felicia answered easily. "I was there for a whole year before I left. Then I opened this little restaurant of mine with the savings I got. Honestly, though, I haven't seen the old coot in years, but I'm sure he's just fine."

She lifted a plate of scones. "Before I left, he gave me the recipe to make these babies. I was honoured by it but I did have to tweak the recipe a bit. You know, business reasons."

"I also noticed you're having no problem with eating them now, Sasha. Considering you looked like you were going to die earlier." Felicia giggled with her statement.

"Huh, I guess I'm not. Cool."

Felicia looked at the clock on the wall and gasped. "Golly, look at the time." She turned towards Sasha, Sprig and Polly and grabbed their empty plates. "You kids should head on back. The market's already starting."

"OH NO! THE MARKET! WE ALMOST FORGOT!" Sprig gasped loudly in shock. He then jumped out of his chair and ran straight to the front door, followed by Sasha and Polly who simply jogged behind him. "Bye, Mrs Sundew! Thanks for the meal!"

"See ya later, Mrs S." Sasha said her goodbyes, making up a nickname on the way.

"Goodbye, Mrs Sundew." Polly exclaimed the same from her water bucket.

Mrs Felicia Sundew waved as they left her beloved restaurant, smiling the entire time. "Goodbye, kids. Do come back sometime in the future!"

* * *

Back at the marketplace, Hop Pop was standing by the Plantar vegetable stall, tapping his feet impatiently. "Now where did them kids ran off to? The market's about to get swamped."

Just as he spoke those words out loud, Sprig, Sasha and Polly all leapt out of the horizon and right in front of the stall, startling Hop Pop. Well, Sprig leapt out from the horizon. Sasha only jogged behind him with Polly in her hands. Sprig landed next to the old frog, jazz hands upwards. "HOP POP! WE HAVE ARRIVED!"

"Well, y'all sure took your time." Hop Pop scolded. "Come on, go to your stations, you two. As for you Sasha, I guess you can stand by for now."

Sprig went and grabbed a sign to stand around and advertise, Hop Pop had to man the 'cash register' while Polly laid in the back, giving any requested vegetables to the old frog. Sasha stood by the side, watching as the Plantars did their work with any customers. Sprig was good with his words and the townsfolk seemed to like him. Hop Pop's experienced and can haggle good, all while Polly helped out and watched him work.

Sasha couldn't help but felt a bit left out.

"So, how was your morning, Sasha?" Hop Pop asked by the counter. "Any interesting stories to tell?"

Sasha tapped her chin. "Well, we did go to that tea shop in town that sells baked goods. I thought it was neat."

"A tea shop? Do you mean Felicia's place? Ha! 'Neat' would be a bit of an understatement. That's pretty much the fanciest place in Wartwood!" He responded, smiling. "Though, I bet your home has some exciting places too, right?"

"Probably. But hey, nothing wrong with trying out some new things." Sasha replied with a smug. She turned to behind the counter. "Say, you think I can help you with the cash?"

"Sure! Here, let me explain to ya how much is how much…"

Hop Pop began to explain to Sasha the prices of each vegetable, the best method of haggling and how to treat their customers. Sasha meanwhile spent no time wasting and quickly absorbed as much as she could. She was, after all, currently stuck at this place for a couple of weeks already and she'll be stuck for a couple of months more, so why not try out some new experiences while she waited? After all, she had all the time in the world.


	7. Backpack Chasers

It has been about two weeks since Sasha was transported into this other world filled with low-tech sapient amphibian people and for the most part, she was adjusting to her new life there quite well, though with a few hiccups here and there. Nonetheless, she prevailed against every challenge and learned valuable lessons along the way, like some kind of a kid's show.

So she deserved some downtime after all those unfortunate events, which was why she was sitting in her basement room with her this-universe BFF, Sprig, and his little sister, Polly.

"What's this?" Sprig asked, holding a metal cylinder with a handle and a hose.

"That's a bicycle pump. Or in this case, just a pump?" Sasha the human answered, somewhat uncertain.

"And what's this?" asked the sister Polly, in her fins was a small rectangular box.

"That's a power bank." Sasha explained. "Though, not much use right now."

"And what's this?" Sprig asked once more, flipping through the pages of a notebook. "'The mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell'?"

Sasha swiped the book from the boy frog's hands, blushing. "Hehehe, that is just homework. Let me just slip this here…" She muttered, sliding the book under her pillow.

Sprig continued to look at all of Sasha's friend's stuff. While some were familiar like the ruler and a pair of scissors, others were bafflingly new and unseen off, like the mysterious Rubik's cube. "You know, your friend Anne has a lot of cool stuff. I'm surprised she brought all of this with her."

Sasha leaned back, supporting herself with her arms. "Well, she usually doesn't bring this much. It was like her birthday that day and we went on a little happy birthday shopping spree. It was totes fun."

"You know, before we got sent here by accident."

"How did you get here anyway?" Polly asked, holding an eraser. It smelled of strawberries, which tempted Polly to then slowly try and lick, only for Sasha to grab it away from her.

"That is a secret I'll carry to my grave." She answered, dropping the eraser back into the bag. "Alright, y'all! Fun time's over. Now put it all back into the bag, please."

At Sasha's request, Polly and Sprig helped collect all of Anne's belongings, dropping it into the bag. While the contents weren't exactly Sasha's, she was at the moment the only one who knew what everything was. Thus, technically it was hers until she finds Anne and gives it back. The items themselves were just basic things to her but being from Earth, they were special and Sasha couldn't help but feel protective of them.

At the same time, she was still genuinely surprised at how spacious the bag was and how much they actually packed into it. She did roughly check the bag when she was stuck in the forest early on but it was never that thorough. She was also glad that she planned early and placed the magic music box under a blanket instead of leaving it in the bag. She wasn't ready for the questions that might arise from revealing it and she was sure that this box didn't originate from her own world if the frog symbols had anything to go by.

"I want to see more of this 'Anne' stuff! They're pretty cool!" Polly exclaimed after finishing with the clean-up.

"Maybe later." Sasha waved off. She then lifted the backpack and dropped it right next to her bed. "We can look at it upstairs. You know, where there is an actual table and natural light."

"Are the mushrooms not natural?"

"They aren't from where I'm from."

As if on cue, Hop Pop's voice called out from upstairs, presumably from the kitchen. "Kids, come on up! The… eh, 'brunch' is ready!"

"Yay!" Sprig cheered, running up the stairs with Polly right behind him. Sasha soon followed, leaving the bag behind in the basement. Unbeknownst to Sasha, a mysterious member had been watching the whole ordeal from the cellar door. It had waited patiently for hours on end, or maybe a few minutes for it had no concept of time. One of its eyes shone and sparkled, looking at the bag of otherworldly objects. The other was looking in a completely different direction, a bit confused.

It was a crow. Larger than the average Earth crow but smaller than most birds seen here. It stood twice as tall as Hop Pop, making it almost an average human teen's height. Huge in comparison to that of home but animals tended to be bigger here anyway. Bessie, for example, was a car-sized snail.

"_CAAAAAWWWW!_" It squawked loudly.

* * *

Meanwhile upstairs, the Plantars were all enjoying a nice morning-noon meal which humans call 'brunch'. Hop Pop called the idea insane and unnatural. After all, skipping breakfast and eating lunch early? How would that even work?! You need to eat lunch in order to have the energy to work on the farm, so skipping it seemed crazy. And eating before lunch meant stopping mid-work for a meal. A heavily frowned upon work ethic.

Sasha didn't see how big of a deal that was.

"We should have brunch every day. I like eating breakfast and lunch at the same time." Sprig said, scooping up some invertebrate-based Plantar-family 'giblets' mixed with corn kernels and seeds, and a glass of milk on the side. Polly was also eating the same thing but she had mixed them all together, creating some kind of makeshift meat cereal. Sasha, on the other hand, ate a grilled salted corn cob with an egg on it, a simple non-Plantar dish that she was confident won't kill her.

"Are you sure you don't want to try some of my giblets?" Hop Pop asked with a bowl of the stuff in his hands. "They're delicious and healthy!"

"Ehehehe… Yeah, no." Sasha replied with a light push of the bowl. "Still don't want to die. Also, when I explained what brunch was, this was not what I meant."

"What do you mean? You told me brunch is the fusion of lunch and breakfast. Well, the giblets are for lunch and the corn is for breakfast." Hop Pop exclaimed with a confused tone.

"It wasn't supposed to be literal."

Just then, a loud squawk was heard coming from below the house. The few bangs and bumps noised out afterwards, followed by more squawking. Sasha, startled by the noise, nearly dropped her cob. She, alongside the rest of the Plantars, all turned towards the noise, examining it from the kitchen. After a few short seconds, the house finally fell silent as the squawking became more and more distant.

Sasha broke said silence immediately after. "Okay, what the heck was that?"

"Sasha! No dirty language in this house!"

"'HECK' IS NOT A BAD WORD!"

"Is anyone going to check what that noise was?" Sprig asked before the two could argue any further. "I mean, it was pretty loud and came from the basement."

"The basement?! _MY STUFF!_" Sasha shouted, running straight to her makeshift room. Sprig, Hop Pop and Polly quickly followed, also curious of the condition of their basement.

Sasha opened the door and ran inside, instantly looking at her part of the room. For the most part, the whole room itself was intact with a few flipped boxes here and there. Sasha's sleeping area seemed okay too but there was something that felt different. Examining closer, it instantly clicked what had transpired.

Anne's bag wasn't there.

"AAAAAAAAAA!" Sasha shrieked in horror, her eyes almost popping out in fear. "THE BAG'S GONE!"

While Sasha was panicking, Hop Pop noticed the open cellar door that led outside to the back yard, by the lake. He had a good idea of what happened and what made the noise. "Kids, did'cha left the door open?"

"Huh?" Sprig voiced. "I guess we forgot."

Hop Pop rubbed his wrinkled chin inquisitively. "It's probably a gilded nest crow. They don't often appear in these parts though."

"What's a gilded nest crow?" Polly asked, being nearby. Hop Pop turned to Polly to answer. "Well, a gilded nest crow is a type of bird that steals objects of value and hoards 'em in their nests. Usually, their nests are full of gold jewellery and silverware, though I'm not sure what's in that bag of yours."

"Yeah well, there's NOTHING LIKE THAT IN THERE!" Sasha yelled in frustration. "It was just a bunch of junk from home! I don't get why that stupid bird had to take it!"

"Maybe it's because they're objects of sentimental value." Sprig quipped, only to receive an angry glare from Hop Pop. "Impossible! A crow can't tell if objects have sentimental value!"

"I dunno, seems kinda possible."

"_AAAARRGHHH!_" Sasha frustratedly screamed. "We have to go get that bird, like _NOW!_"

"Calm down, Sasha. I'm sure we'll find it." The older frog stated. "It was far too recent. It couldn't have gotten far."

Despite Hop Pop's assurances, Sasha couldn't stay calm. Sure, the stuff in there wasn't hers exactly but they were her only connection back to Earth. A bunch of irreplaceable junk. She felt nervous and outraged but far more perplexed than what she's used to. Sprig noticed this and he wasn't going to let his BFF suffer like this. He hopped onto the stairs leading outside with determination.

"Come on, guys! If we hurry, we'd catch it before it gets back to its nest!" Sprig declared.

With desperate conviction, the four sole members of the Plantar household ran outside. Hop Pop swiftly readied Bessie, packed some supplies and when everyone was finally on its shell, the older frog whipped the leash and their pet snail immediately drove off along with them.

* * *

After a minute or so of driving, Sprig noticed a familiar object on the road. Instantly, he pointed and called out. "Look! It's the mystery colour box!"

"Color what?" Sasha asked, distracted. Inspecting at where Sprig pointed, she noticed a familiar cube she showed the boy frog earlier. "The Rubik's cube!"

Hop Pop halted their snail nearby and Sasha promptly jumped off once close, Sprig just behind her. Kneeling down, she grabbed her friend's puzzle and rubbed off the dirt and dust that covered it. The item was a bit scratched but mostly undamaged which Sasha was somewhat glad of.

"Well, we now know that stupid bird went this way. Hey Hop Pop, where does this road lead to?" Sasha asked, putting the cube into a spare burlap rucksack.

"Well, this road here leads to the rocky plains filled with large plateaus and deep canyons. We rarely use the road since it doesn't really lead anywhere." He replied, looking at the road ahead.

"Maybe the crow lives there." Sprig quipped in.

"Preposterous! Gilded nest crows don't live on top of stone! They live in high canopies in the forests, too dangerous for anyone to reach."

"It doesn't matter where it lives!" Sasha interrupted. "The point is we can still catch it! And every second we stand here doing nothing, the further away it gets!"

"But Sasha," Hop Pop began. "That place is dangerous! The air is so dry and hot, it practically an oven! You'll get yourself killed!"

"Like I said, it doesn't matter!" Sasha jumped onto Bessie along with Sprig. "SO LET'S GO!"

"Alright alright!" The older frog said, exasperated. He then patted the snail's shell and whispered. "Come on, Bessie. Let's show that bird what you can do."

"KIIIIIIIIII!" Bessie squeaked. With the heart and power of an overgrown snail, it rushed through the dirt road, following its path to God knows where.

* * *

After an hour of travel, the surroundings started to change slowly. Gone were the lush forest trees and thick bushes, instead replaced by orange dry earth and large pebbles along the path. The border was not clearly defined but Sasha knew they had entered unknown territory. The air was quiet and dry but far from still, kicking up dust here and there.

Along the way, they had found more of Sasha's belongings. The heavier objects seemed to have fallen first, such as the bicycle pump from earlier and a pencil box carrying various school supplies, all of which were collected and placed in the replacement rucksack. Surprisingly so, despite the rucksack looking bigger than Anne's bag, it had somehow slowly gotten full with all the items collected, which makes one wonder if Anne's bag was magical as well.

"Well, here we are. Welcome to the Rocky Plains." Hop Pop announced, stopping the snail momentarily.

"Wait, so the Rocky Plains is its actual name?" Sasha incredulously asked.

"Well, yeah. It's a plain filled with rocks. What more do you want?"

Sasha thought about it and only shrugged. Hop Pop easily accepted said response and whipped the leash forward, causing Bessie to move once more. While Hop Pop continued to drive across the plains, Sasha and the two Plantar kids kept watch, looking for anything that could be described as a trail.

"See anything yet?" Sasha asked, looking around with squinted eyes.

"Nope.", replied Sprig, who was using a pair of binoculars. They continued and with every second, the environment that was the Rocky Plains started to gain effect. Their skins began to wrinkle and harden, their mouths dried itself of all saliva and the very Earth sapped them of their energy. Despite that, Sasha was insistent on finding her lost belongings.

They searched and searched for what could've been hours. Had they brought with them a watch, they would've been able to accurately tell the time. And while Sasha was dealing with the new environment quite well due to her human biology, the rest of the frogs were less so.

Sprig, who was sweating by the buckets, had been panting for a while. He took a flask out of the supplies, courtesy of Hop Pop, and drank some of its fresh liquid contents. It was just cold and clean river water though, nothing special. "Hey, Sasha… Should we stop?" He coughed, accidentally choking on his drink. "Haa, it's been hours…"

"NO! NOT YET!" Sasha unintentionally shouted. She breathed, "Look, we've only found like a third of what was in that bag. We can't leave now! Not when we're so close!"

"I don't know how you humans do it," Hop Pop groaned. "But we frogs aren't meant to deal with this heat. The Rocky Plains have nothing in them for a reason! It's a dead zone!"

"Except for the crow's nest." Sprig added, wiping the sweat off of his forehead.

"There is no crow's nest!"

"But if we don't get them now, we'll lose them forever!" she argued, getting back on track and feeling a bit more heated than usual. "I can't let that happen! All that junk, they're all I have from home!"

The Plantars all looked amongst themselves for a moment and back to Sasha, who looked like she was having a mental breakdown. With only a glance, they all sighed in defeat. "Alright, Sasha. We'll continue our search. But only for another hour. The water supply we have won't last any longer."

"Awesome! You rule, old man!" Sasha praised with a huge smile and then looked straight forward again. She was grateful that the frogs followed her on this, even if it was somewhat unsafe. Those items might have been junk even to her but they were irreplaceable. She can't afford to lose them, not now and not ever.

* * *

A few minutes later, an unknown object glinted in the distance. "I see something shiny!" yelled Polly with a pointed fin, who was still somewhat okay due to her bucket of water. It was quite a distance away but the setting sun caused it to flicker noticeably.

Following the flickering shine, the four found themselves facing off of a ravine, though the opposing cliff face at the other side was considerably taller than theirs by presumably 25 feet. The ravine itself wasn't that wide nor was it deep, about five or six feet downwards from their location with sloppy brown liquid at the bottom, lying completely still. Once close enough, Sasha went to inspect the item which was at the very edge.

"It's a pocket knife." Sasha exclaimed with a tired voice, showing it to the rest. "And this is the very end of the road."

Looking around, everyone realized her words rang true. Where they stood truly was the end of the road. The only way forward was to cross the ravine and climb the steep cliff by hand. But for a crow, it would've been extremely easy since they could just fly over. But they were not crows; they were three dehydrated frogs and an unnaturally determined human teenager.

While Sasha brainstormed her next move, Sprig looked at the cliff face and noticed a bird's nest hanging precariously on a large dead-looking tree branch growing out, large enough for the whole family to sit in. The surrounding support from the wall seemed to be cracked and the roots of the tree were barely hanging on, mostly due to the weight. "Hey, guys… is that what we're looking for?"

Sasha turned to where Sprig was pointing and saw the nest as well. She grinned happily, "THAT'S IT, SPRIG! YOU FOUND IT!"

"Yay…" Sprig cheered weakly. He was just so exhausted and desperate for some hydration. Hop Pop drank from his flask, giving half of what's left to Sprig who looked like he was ready to fall over. The boy frog accepted it greedily but with a few glugs, he realized that the flask was finally empty. Such a shame.

With her hand shielding her eyes from the harsh sun, Sasha glared at the bird's nest for a better description. She couldn't see her bag but she did notice a bunch of random stuff in it, so the most likely scenario was that her bag was in it as well. "The stuff is still there. We can make it!"

"But how are we supposed to get up there?!" Polly argued. "It's like at least ten frogs tall!"

"I thought you can't count." Sasha inquired. All she got back, however, was a huff of annoyance. "I can count! I just can't read!"

"Well, it doesn't matter! We just have to climb up and grab the bag. So…" She turned around. "Who's with me?!"

From the looks of it, nobody. The heat was unbearable and the Plantars had been there for hours. While the road back wouldn't take that long, it was still considerable risk. Sasha may be aware of it, which is why she wanted it done as quickly as possible, she was still human and thus was unable to fully grasp the differences of their biology.

So all she got was silence and apprehensive looks. Sasha rolled her eyes and groaned, "Urgh, fine! I'll do it myself. You guys can stay here or whatever."

"Thanks, Sasha!" "Thank ya kindly, Sasha." "YOU'RE THE BEST!" Sprig, Hop Pop and Polly said respectively.

Sasha stretched and cracked her joints, releasing the tension within her muscles. Readying herself, she ran and jumped off the ledge, grabbing hold of the cliff wall by its loose stone. The cliff itself wasn't as perfectly steep as it seemed, giving Sasha some foothold to bind herself to. Once secured, she climbed up step by step, grabbing any holds that stood out of place and pushing herself higher.

She had to admit, she wasn't the type to do this kind of exercise but if her athletic history was anything to come by, then she had trained a bit of her upper body strength. You don't just become a cheerleader-slash-gymnast by doing hula hoops. A lot of work was put in and she was somewhat proud of her skills.

While Sasha continued her climb, a shadow briefly loomed over the teen, something that Sasha instantly realized. "THE CROW! IT'S BACK!"

"_CAAAWWWWW!_" The gilded nest crow screeched. Physically, the crow was at least twice the size of a frog but finally, with a good view, she saw that it was not pure black like an average crow and had golden-tipped wings. Its beak was also a light purplish colour and for some odd reason, it had a lazy eye.

It squawked once more and dived down to attack. With a glint in its normal eye, it turned slightly and aimed straight towards Sasha specifically. Sasha pulled herself closer to the cliff face in retaliation, avoiding its deadly talons by a mere inch. She yelped as she nearly lost her own grip, pulling herself back and stabilizing as best as she could. While the bird took its time to circle around for another strike, she quickly climbed as fast as she could to reach the nest, the only stable place they could be.

Once in range again, the gilded nest crow continued to eye on Sasha, finding her to be the preferred target. These crows might not be that imposing but they were extremely territorial, similar to that of Earth's geese. Seeing Sasha as the main perpetrator, she had gained its full undivided and unfortunate attention.

"WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM, YOU STUPID BIRD?!" Sasha angrily barked. The crow might not have understood what she had said but body language and loud screaming was enough aggression for it to retaliate. It revealed its wings and shrieked, diving once more onto the blonde-head teen, something Sasha was immediately aware of.

"_CRUD CRUD CRUD CRUD CRUD—!_" Sasha chanted in distress, climbing even faster than before. But before the crow could get its talons on her, a rock flew across the air and hit it directly into its lazy eye, causing it to screech in pain and change course.

With the bird distracted, Sasha continued her climb without interruptions. She never noticed the rock that saved her or more precisely, Sprig with his slingshot. "HEY, YOU BIG DUMMY! PICK ON SOMEONE YOUR OWN SIZE!"

The crow shook its head mid-flight, orienting itself as it hovered. Sprig had managed to gain its attention, causing it to switch targets; the Plantars on ground level.

"Uh, Sprig?! I think you got its attention!" Hop Pop exclaimed with increasing worry. Sprig grabbed another rock and loaded his slingshot, aiming at the crow. The two glared at one another, Sprig with his loaded slingshot ready and the gilded nest crow with its beak pointing directly at him. It was a classic cowboy standoff except instead of cowboys, you get a frog boy and a larger-than-average bird.

After what seemed to be several gruelling hours (but actually only a few seconds), Sprig made the first move and released his slingshot, firing the rock at the crow. Unlike last time, however, the crow was ready and dodged his projectile with ease as it dived straight towards him.

Sprig grabbed more rocks and fired repeatedly, raining the bird with stone. But it was far too agile and was able to quickly close in on him. Sensing the looming threat, the frog boy ducked out of the way, causing the bird to miss its mark. Sprig, however, was relentless and continued firing rocks with his trusty slingshot, even as the crow had passed him.

Meanwhile, back by the cliffside, Sasha struggled as she climbed rock by rock towards the nest. She might have been athletically able but that didn't mean she wouldn't get tired. However, her will refused to break that easily to a simple boorish wall of dirt and rock and ultimately, that paid off.

Sasha scrambled over the edge of the nest, apparently made of bent metal poles held together by dried spit, and sat down for a breath. Her breathing was frantic and irregular but she calmed down quickly. Afterwards, she promptly stood up and started her search.

"Now where is it…?" Sasha asked herself, looking around the nest. The nest itself was somewhat big but it was mostly cluttered with so much random junk that it was hard to find any space. There were, at a glance, a few broken appliances, some tools and material, typical expensive jewellery and dinnerware, some blankets and pipes here and there, and peculiarly one or two oddly muscular wooden sculptures. Heck, there was even a small bag just filled with marbles.

Thankfully, the search didn't take long. She found the straps of the bag underneath a few clocks and pulled it out.

"There you are! And…" Sasha looked inside but instead, found herself staring through a tear the size of her fist. Its contents had been emptied, leaving her with nothing but a torn bag. "_OH, YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!_"

She briefly peered outside of the nest and called out at the Plantars underneath her. "Guys, I found the bag but the stuff is gone! I need to search the pile!"

Sprig turned towards shouting Sasha, waving. "Oh hey, Sasha! Did you find your stuff yet?" Sprig asked, shooting another rock at the crow. Sasha, in turn, shouted louder. "No, the stuff is mixed with the pile! I need to look for it!"

"Oh, okay!" Sprig replied with a smile. "Take your time! We're cool down here!"

Unbeknownst to Sprig, the crow had been watching his every move, looking for an opening it can abuse. Detecting its enemy as distracted, it quickly took advantage of the situation and dived towards it as fast as possible. Hop Pop noticed the fast-moving avian and gasped. Sprig didn't see it coming.

"Sprig, look out!" Hop Pop yelled, jumping onto him before the talons could even scratch him. However, the lunge surprised the young frog, causing him to let go of his only form of defence; the slingshot. It clattered away from his hand before stopping a few feet away. Both frogs stared at the loose weapon but crows are smart. It landed next to the slingshot and kicked it away and into the muddy ravine.

"… Uh oh." Sprig exclaimed. The crow turned to look at the frogs with its lazy eye, which realigned itself to look at them straight dead in the eye.

"CAAAAAWWWW!" It cawed angrily and flew forward into them. Sprig and Hop Pop rolled to the left and right sides to dodge.

Concurrently, Sasha ransacked the crow's nest, looking for any stuff that could resemble at least 'human'. But suddenly, she heard a cry of fear from her favourite froggy family. She jerked and glanced at the general direction of the noise.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH—!"

Hop Pop and Sprig were running in circles, panicked and out of control. The crow continued its attempt to gouge them like yesterday's meal, almost catching them several times. Polly, who wanted to help, was forced to watch as she was unable to do anything from her bucket and that she carried no weapons with her. Something that she'll keep in mind in the future.

"Oh gosh… SPRIG! HOP POP!" Sasha yelled from the bird's nest. They were in trouble and she was too far away to do anything. She curled up in the nest and brainstormed for an idea.

"Come on, Sasha… Think!" She ordered herself, smacking her forehead for ideas. As she tried to think of a way to get out of this mess, the seconds began to pass and the chances of survival dwindled considerably, adding up even more stress onto the young teen. The screams in the background definitely did not help.

"URGH, DAMMIT!" Sasha screamed furiously. "If I didn't push them to get my stuff back, none of this would've happened! All of this stupid junk is in the way and I can't find any of it fast eno—"

Suddenly, she had an idea.

* * *

Polly was having an emotional breakdown.

Okay, it wasn't that dramatic actually but her family was still about to be eaten by a larger-than-average bird so it wasn't a complete understatement either. If it were back home, she would've jumped at that bird like a crazed maniac. Unfortunately for her, the air was far too dry and hot and she was pretty sure the bucket was the only thing keeping her alive.

Instead, she scoured through Sasha's collected things and picked one that was throwable. For example, this cube made of mismatched and colourful smaller cubes or as Sasha called it, a Rubik's cube.

"HEY, STOOPID! PICK ON SOMEONE YOUR OWN SIZE!" Polly yelled, using the same words Sprig previously did. She then threw the cube at the gilded nest crow and while she may be a pollywog, she was by no means physically weak.

At the moment, the crow had managed to corner Sprig and Hop Pop but the cube crashed at the back of its undefended head with a loud and painful thunk. Surprised and distracted, the two took the short opportunity and escaped its clutches, all while it shrieked fiercely at Polly.

"Polly! What did I tell ya about starting fights?!" Hop Pop scolded as he ran towards her. Polly threw her fins up back at him. "You didn't tell me anything about that!"

"Well, I'm telling ya now! Don't start fights with giant birds!"

"IT'S BIGGER THAN YOU ARE!"

Ignoring her remark, Hop Pop grabbed Polly with her bucket. With a few taps on her shell, Bessie immediately shrunk itself into the shell, protecting it from harm. Hop Pop had run away from the crow with the express purpose of keeping Polly safe but that couldn't be the case any longer. Crows are smart and like any smart sentient being, they don't like being pelted by random hard objects.

Which was why Sasha was pelting the crow with random hard objects.

"Hey, you dumb bird! Pick on someone your own size!" She provoked from the height of the bird's nest, the same words both Sprig and Polly used. The crow turned around and faced her, glaring with the intensity of a hundred blades. It was one thing to throw objects at it, it was another to use its hoard for that. Gilded nest crows are quite protective of their loot and Sasha was pretty much desecrating its home.

"_CAAAAAAWWWW!_" It screeched and immediately shot up to the nest. Sasha moved back and into the nest, away from the crow's view. It overshot its flight and looped back to the nest, landing with a threatening thud. As it lifted its head, it locked eyes at the human teen with a scowl, a dangerous pressure enveloping the area.

"Oh hey there, you stupid animal. Nice to meet ya." Sasha mocked with pure confidence. She mentally imagined herself with a wad of bubblegum in her mouth, just to make it look cool. "You know, I don't really like it when people mess with my stuff. And I'm guessing you're kinda the same too."

The crow tilted its head sideways. "Which means, you're definitely not gonna like this!"

Immediately after, Sasha kicked an already-broken clock open, breaking it even further. The feathers of the crow stood out, shocked and surprised. A few more stomps, the clock shattered into pieces of wood shards and bent gears, permanently unfixable. Turning around, she kicked a fairly expensive-looking vase, toppling and breaking it into ceramic pieces.

Suddenly, the temperature dropped and Sasha could feel the chill from the avian predator.

"_CAAAAAAWWWW!_" The bird ran straight towards her with scorn, fury bursting from its every pore. It internally vowed to peck the human teen till she was nothing but stains and scattered her remains through every nook and cranny of the world. A dramatic way of wanting someone dead but it was a crow. It was born with drama.

Sasha, however, was fully prepared for this. She grabbed the bag of marbles and threw it straight forward haphazardly. It wasn't enough to stop it from charging but it did its job as a distraction. The crow was forced to close its eyes as the marbles pelted its face and when it opened them again, all it saw was cotton.

"HIIIYAAA!" Sasha threw a large cotton cloth over the crow's head, who was too distracted to notice. The cloth's corners were tied in different parts of the nest, with one corner tied to a free rope. It ran blindly all over the place, cracking the nest floor before it attempted to fly away but the dastardly blonde teen wouldn't allow that. With a tug of the free rope, she pulled the bird back down before it could escape, causing it to roll all over and shake the entire nest. The nearby wooden sculptures, precariously placed by Sasha, fell over and onto the entrapped crow, knocking it down.

Sasha then grabbed a loose stick from around her, ran over to the downed bird and began brutally beating it with said stick.

No mercy.

This lasted for many long seconds and after a few agonizing and unrelenting hits, the crow managed to stand up and spread its wings wide, releasing itself from the cloth trap and pushing the teen onto her back. While this may seemed to be the perfect opportunity for revenge, the crow instead decided the girl was too crazy to deal with and flew off with its tail tucked beneath its bird legs.

"_CAAAWWW!_" It shrieked in fear.

"YEAH, YOU BETTER RUN!" Sasha roared, her fist in the air. She even threw the stick at its general direction for good measure.

Watching the big bird retreat in the sunset felt somewhat cathartic. While she wouldn't call herself a fan of bloodsports, she had to admit that hitting it with the stick was both an unnatural but welcoming feeling. While she admired the slowly disappearing form of a thieving avian, she heard cheers from below the nest. She walked to the edge and looked down, eyeing on Hop Pop, Sprig and Polly all cheering for her.

"Good job, Sasha!" "You did it!" "YEEEEAAAAHHH!"

Sasha bashfully blushed. "Aw shucks, guys. You don't have to praise me like that. I mean, we beat way worse stuff than this."

Sasha pointed back at the pile with her thumb. "Well, I gotta go look my stuff. See you guys in five—" Snap. Crack. The ground beneath her feet began to shake. "—minutes?"

That was when the supporting branch that held the whole nest up split itself and Sasha fell to her doom.

Sasha screamed. "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH—!"

* * *

"You know, you're lucky that the ravine was filled with mud. That fall could've killed ya, or worst." Hop Pop blurted to Sasha, bandaging her arm. While she did come out of that fall mostly unharmed, that nest was still made of a bunch of wooden branches, many of which when broken can be quite pointy. A wound in the arm wasn't so bad.

"What could be worse than death?" Sasha asked back.

"Being crippled for life is a good example." Hop Pop answered, finishing the bandage. "Though, I did hear there's magic that can fix that."

"Wait, magic exists in this world? How come I've never seen anyone use it?!"

"Sasha." Hop Pop stared at the teen. "How many spellcasters do you know in Wartwood?"

"Uh…"

"Thought so." Hop Pop secured the bandage with a simple knot, nothing too fancy. It did its job and that was all that mattered. Sasha inspected her wrapped arm, moving it around. "So, how's it feel?"

"Ay, not bad, old man." Sasha genuinely praised. She had gotten injured before, so she knew a fair amount of first-aid herself. "You sure got a lot of secrets. I didn't think first-aid was one of them."

Hop Pop laughed. "Heh, you wouldn't know half of them." Done with the inspection, Sasha stood up and walked towards the edge of the ravine with Hop Pop by her side. The two looked down from said edge and watched Sprig and Polly swimming in the mud, looking for whatever valuables they could find. Half of the reason was to find Sasha's lost belongings while the other half was about getting any useful treasures out of it. After all, it wasn't always that they could raid a gilded nest crow's turf.

"Did you guys find anything yet?" Sasha called out from above. Sprig turned towards her with a muddy gold necklace in hand. "I found this! Is it yours?"

"Nope. Keep trying, man." With a little encouragement, Sprig threw the necklace in the small pile in front of him, all of which were jewellery.

"So… We're selling this stuff, right?" Sasha quipped, wondering what they were to do with it. Hop Pop responded without turning. "If we could. Though it's best we return what we can. Don't want the folks to think we're thieves or anything."

Sasha nodded, acknowledging the answer. She then crouched and sat by the edge, her feet dangling next to the ravine wall. Hop Pop also did the same, his tired old bones already at its limit. Today had been one hectic day for the two of them. Sasha felt relieved that she got her friend's belongings back, it is what last connection she had with her old home and Hop Pop hadn't gone on an adventure like that for a very long time, starting to physically feel why.

Her head swayed upwards, staring at the darkening sky. Stars were slowly coming to view and out in the middle of nowhere, it wasn't as dark as one expected, especially with the bright blue moon out. She lived her entire life in the suburbs and so rarely had she ever watched the beautiful night sky this way. She honestly couldn't remember the last time she experienced this view, feeling a little melancholic.

"Hey, Hop Pop?" Sasha uttered. Hop Pop, who was watching the night sky as well, turned to her. "Yes, Sasha?"

"I'm sorry I risk your lives in this mess. It was my stuff and I shouldn't have gotten you all in danger like that." She laid her back onto the ground. "I-I acted like a jerk, pushing you all and being bad. I just… I didn't want to lose them."

Sasha felt a hand lightly placed on her shoulder. Turning sideways, she saw Hop Pop looking at her with a smile on his wrinkly face. "It wasn't your fault, Sasha. I understand what it's like to have sentimental value in random objects. Heck, it was why we agreed to begin with."

"I'm pretty sure it was why the crow stole it!" Sprig added while covered in mud. Hop Pop ignored that, still somewhat disbelief that the infamous gilded nest crow would go around stealing junk, and continued.

"The point being, you looked so scared when we left the house, that all of us wanted to pitch in and help ya in any way we can." Hop Pop shifted his focus to the kids, still searching for more treasure. "Sure, we nearly got ourselves killed but it all worked out in the end. That's what matters."

Every word Hop Pop said, Sasha couldn't help but feel a bit sad about it. She hadn't been here long and yet, the Plantars tried to help her in any way she could. When she tried to repay that, everything went up into flames but they still didn't mind.

She didn't know why she got sent to this world; she assumed it to be her own fault, but there was one thing she was definitely sure of, and that was the Plantars were too good for her. She realized that. And yet, she still got to be in their lives as they are in hers. She was grateful that she got to meet them.

"Heh, that's got to be the most cliché thing I've ever heard you say, old man." Sasha exclaimed with a stifled laugh.

"Whaa? But I was being honest and everything!" Hop Pop cried out, looking a little offended. Sasha raised her hands in defence. "No no, cliché is good! All stories have clichés in them, even good ones."

"The history behind all clichés, it's why people like them." She quoted with a positive note to what was usually a negative term. "I mean, they wouldn't be clichés if no one liked them, right?"

"Hmm…" Hop Pop hummed, tapping his chin with his finger. "I guess you're right. Never thought of it that way."

The two continued to watch the stars slowly glow brighter. There was a simple yet pleasant feeling of watching what accounted as a daily occurrence, especially in the quietness of the night.

"But Sasha?"

"Hmm?"

"If your stuff gets stolen again and we nearly get ourselves killed for it, I'ma burn them to ash."

"Over my dead body."


	8. Bessie the Snail

If you were to ask Hop Pop which animal he liked the most, the most obvious answer would be what he had the longest. In this case, it would be Bessie the snail; the Plantars' only mode of transportation and loyal companion. Bessie here had been part of the family for as long as he could remember, in fact long enough that Bessie might as well be a Plantar. He had travelled the world with the girl and opened up his eyes with new experiences. An average and common snail but irreplaceable.

"Here we are, Bessie. Home sweet home." Hop Pop sang with a happy tune, looking over to the Plantars' house from on top of a hill. He was riding on Bessie, a leather leash in his hands. The snail squealed in delight.

With a light fwip of the leash, Bessie crawled her way to the Plantar homestead. While she's just a snail, she wasn't as slow as one would think. Fast enough to reach the destination on time while also comfortable, creating a pleasant ride.

Hop Pop steered the snail with a slight tug, leading her into the barn; Bessie's own little bedroom. Most would say that storing your hard-earned produce in the barn with a giant snail was a bad idea but Hop Pop and Bessie had an unbreakable bond. He knew that the snail wouldn't eat his crops.

Once arrived, he removed Bessie's leash and tapped her on the shell twice, signalling to her that it was resting time. He walked by a large barrel and scooped up some mushy snail food, pouring it into the trough nearby.

"There ya go!" Hop Pop exclaimed, adding a handful of mushrooms in the mix as an extra treat. He liked to do that from time to time, something special for her hard work.

"SQUUIIII!" Bessie squeaked happily as she munched down on her well-earned lunch.

While she gorged herself, Hop Pop went to the back and grabbed the groceries he bought. Thanks to Sasha's brilliant haggling skills at the weekly market, those tomatoes sold 50% over their original price. She was a quick learner and just as quick at using them.

"See ya in the morning, Bessie!" Hop Pop said, closing the barn doors. The closed doors were so that no pests could come in but there were a few windows nearby that provided some natural light to enter. Bessie didn't even notice that Hop Pop left.

* * *

The old frog opened the front door with a creak and placed his bags onto the kitchen table. He was quite happy with what he bought and while it did cost a pretty penny, he felt that it was worth it. He didn't usually spend this much; not even for his grandkids. But this time, it's a special occasion.

"Hehe, Bessie's gonna love this." Hop Pop chuckled quietly to himself. He didn't need to, knowing that the kids were out of the house at the time being but it was a force of habit.

"What'cha got there, old man?"

"Nothing much, Sasha. I just went to town to buy Bessie something speci— WAIT, SASHA?!"

Hop Pop immediately turned around, facing straight at Sasha's suspicious face. She was eyeing his grocery bags, so Hop Pop quickly jumped in front of them, blocking her view. "What are you doing here?! I thought you went out to play with Sprig and Polly!"

"Oh, I did." Sasha nodded. "We went to the lake you told us not to go and the monster was still there, so I'm just back here to grab a few of your super spicy peppers to throw at it."

"Wait, the lake? MONSTER?! There's a MONSTER in the lake?!"

"Yep." She replied, popping the 'p' at the end.

"If you knew that, why did you go anyway?!" Hop Pop shrieked. Sasha shrugged nonchalantly. "It's not the first time me and Sprig dealt with it. We even got eaten by it once. It's all cool."

"YOU GOT EATEN BY THE MONSTER IN THE LAKE?!" Hop Pop started croaking in panic, seemingly at the verge of a heart attack. He slowly crawled his way to the sink, desperate for a shock. He turned the tap and filled a basin full of water, before dunking his head in it and screaming.

"Phuow!" He yelped, his head finally out and his lungs filling itself with oxygen once more. Hop Pop stared at the partially filled basin with horror. "W-why are you telling me this?"

"Oh, because it already happened and there isn't really anything you can do." Sasha replied with an uncaring tone. "Also, I get to see what you bought."

Hop Pop turned around and saw Sasha rummaging through his groceries. Both of her answers were correct and she fully used them to her advantage. That sly gal.

"Woah ho ho, what's this?!" Sasha gleefully asked as she pulled out a small canister, the size of her hand. It had trims of gold and turquoise and had some fancy cursive art on its surface, giving it an expensive but mystical look. She was also sure that the canister glowed in the dark.

"Be careful! I spent half of our tomato savings on it!" Hop Pop yelled, running towards Sasha and grabbing it out of her hand. He also slapped the same hand once for good measure.

"OWW! What the heck?!"

"That's for telling me the truth!" He scolded. He returned to the metal container and carefully stared at it. "Oh, I hope you're not damaged..."

While Hop Pop rubbed away any prints with his own fingers, Sasha leaned forward, peeking around his shoulder. "So... You're gonna explain what that is?"

Hop Pop sighed. "I'm guessing you're not gonna leave until I answer, huh?"

He didn't even have to turn to know the answer.

"Well," Hop Pop began, turning around to face her. "This here is a Goldycep, short for golden cordyceps. Extremely rare and expensive, and usually used for medicinal purposes."

An eyebrow raised in question. "What, are you dying or something?"

"Hehe, not yet." He answered with a chuckle. "I didn't buy this for myself. I bought it for dear ol' Bessie. You see, her birthday is coming up and I always buy her something special, usually in the form of food."

"And you bought it a mushroom?" Sasha exclaimed, poking the golden cordyceps with her finger. Hop Pop immediately pulled it away from her and slap her hand again, receiving a brief shriek of pain.

"STOP THAT! And this here ain't no ordinary mushroom! Legend has it that this here cordyceps is one of the four ingredients needed to make the Elixir of Life."

"Well, has anyone ever made this 'Elixir of Life'?"

"No, it's just a legend." The old frog realized he was getting distracted and promptly shook his head. "L-look, that's not the point! It's supposed to be special for Bessie!"

With a sigh, he waved it off. "You wouldn't understand, Sasha. You don't know what it's like to have your own snail."

Now, both eyebrows were raised. "W-wha?! I've had pets before! I know what it's like to have one!"

"Bessie ain't no pet, she's family!" Hop Pop argued back. "She's been in the family since I was Sprig's age! In fact, she's older than you are which makes her your elder!"

Sasha stared at Hop Pop with wide eyes. The snail was actually older than her? Man, she didn't think she'd find that out. To be fair, she did guess that would've been the case but she preferred it to not be true.

Sasha then proceeded to laugh. "PFFFFFTTT— Hahahahaha! The snail's my elder? Hehehehe—!"

The older frog frowned. "It ain't funny, Sasha. It's true!"

Sasha wheezed as she continued laughing. After a few coughs and chest bumps, she started breathing normally. "Hehe, L-look, I'm not laughing because it's not true. I just think it's funny that you think some snail can order me around."

Hop Pop's frown deepened. Here she was, a guest that he (initially) was sceptical of and yet letting her stay at this little cottage by a lake, and she was laughing at dear 'ol Bessie. He knew what it was like to deal with rude children but this just took the cake.

Hop Pop wasn't just angry. He was disappointed too. But mostly furious.

"Well, it settles then." Hop Pop said, crossing his arms. "Since you're not going to give Bessie the respect she deserves, I guess you don't need her to buy you your supplies, right?"

Abrupt and instant, Sasha stopped laughing. Her expression changed from happy laughter to sudden death by horror in less than a second. However, that didn't last either, quickly changing to a serious stare.

"You wouldn't dare..." Sasha glared at the older frog, not buying his bluff. She knew how to deal with people and that meant knowing when they're lying. There was no way Hop Pop would let her starve or worse; eat his cooking.

And she was right. Hop Pop was in fact bluffing. He might be mad at the moment but that didn't mean he was unreasonable. But Sasha missed one glaring issue; Hop Pop is old as heck, which meant he also knew how to deal with children like herself.

"Oh, I would. I know you can't eat my delicious cooking because of your human body, but that don't mean you can't eat other stuff. Heh, before you came living here, you told me you ate mushrooms and herbs." Hop Pop replied, doubling down on her.

"That's not a way of living!" Sasha yelled. "I was at the brink of death! I need a balanced diet!"

"And you can. You'll just have to use the same ingredients I use from my usual grocery run." He then smirked. "I hope you like grasshopper legs. They're a delicacy around these parts."

Sasha glared at the older frog's confident face, and Hop Pop did the same at her serious expression. Neither was willing to back down, being the stubborn mules that they were.

Although Sasha wanted to continue calling out his unconvincing bluff, she slowly realized that it just wasn't worth it. Why get caught up over a dumb snail anyway? Her own pride might be against it but she was convinced that there was no reason to continue.

Sasha rolled her eyes and sighed. "Fine, I'm sorry I insulted your snail, Betty—"

"It's Bessie!"

"Barnaby, whatever." She waved. "There, you happy?"

Hop Pop scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Well... It ain't the apology I wanted but it'll do. Though, I still say if you had your own snail, you'd understand."

This again? Sasha wasn't going to fall in this trap. "Well, I don't have my own snail and I know you aren't going to buy me one. So we're stuck like this." She casually remarked.

Listening to Sasha's words, Hop Pop suddenly had a great idea. Personally, he thought it was dangerous and he wouldn't trust Sasha with any animal but he believed it could work. He just had to keep an eye on her.

"That's it!" Hop Pop shouted, snapping his fingers. He placed the golden cordyceps on the table before running he then t to his study. Sasha watched as he ran gleefully in and pulled the door closed. Random noises and funny sounds came out of the closed room and after a few long minutes, the door reopened, letting out a cloud of dust and cobwebs into the living room. Sasha coughed as the air rapidly deteriorates in terms of quality, though it quickly ended.

"Here we are..." Hop Pop exclaimed with a smile, carrying with him a big and really old-looking book. He walked up to her by the kitchen and dropped the book on the table, just next to the cordyceps.

"This here is Bessie's log. In it are all the records of her life on the Plantar residence, starting from the day I got her till today. I write new entries every month or so." He then tapped his chin in thought. "Which reminds me, I should update it right about now."

Sasha looked at the side of the book, taking in the number of pages the book had. It was the thickest set of pages Sasha had ever seen in her whole life, and she's been to her city's library before. She grabbed a handful of pages and flicked them rapidly with her thumb, giving out a _shrttt_ sound.

"Holy heck, old man. I didn't think you can write this much, or even read this much." She exclaimed with a whistle.

Hop Pop proudly patted the book, a smile adorning his face. "This log has over 50 years worth of history between me and Bessie. It's irreplaceable."

"Uh-huh..." Sasha nodded. "So, why are you showing me this again?"

"You see, before you can learn to drive another person's snail, you need to know the history behind it. Now, I planned on giving this to Sprig when he comes to age but since you're here with _obvious disrespect towards Bessie_, I think it's best for you to try out first."

While Sasha stared at Hop Pop, she processed his words and after a second or two, she blinked. "Oh ho, no way. I don't need to learn to drive a snail. They're so slow and gross."

"Sasha, you ride Bessie with us every time we go to town."

"And I'm not taking back those words."

Hop Pop sighed in irritation. "Look, you don't even have to ride Bessie. Just read the book and _maybe _you'll understand what it's like to have one." He waved the book in front of her. "Come on, just try a few pages. It's not like you have anything better to do."

Walking backwards, the teen defiantly crossed her arms. "Nothing better to do? I help you on your farm every day! That's already a pretty big something."

Sasha shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "I just don't see what I could gain from this." She said with a mocking tone. Hop Pop, however, was having none of that.

"If you read at least ten pages word by word, you get to skip work for the whole week."

"Deal."

* * *

The next day, Sasha was sitting by the living room, prepared for what's to come. She had the book ready on the table and next to it, a basket of her favourite treats. After hearing about Hop Pop's 'challenge', Sprig jumped around in joy and anticipation. Apparently, he was looking forward to being able to read the leather cover book, something about being tradition or whatnot.

In response, he went off to buy a bunch of snacks from town to give her the energy needed and finish reading the book. Sasha, however, did not plan on finishing it. After all, Hop Pop specifically said at least 50 pages. So that's her milestone.

Also, Hop Pop had begun trusting Sprig more recently so now he's allowed to walk to Wartwood whenever he wanted. Though, he had to bring Polly with him; a safety measure due to his history of mishaps and problems. Then again, the pollywog wasn't exactly complaining.

So yeah, now she has a lightly-decorated straw basket filled with a bunch of different foodstuffs.

"Time to get started!" Sasha exclaimed out loud, though no one was there to actually hear it. She sure hoped talking to herself won't become a habit in the future.

Once sat down, Sasha grabbed the book and pulled it closer, feeling the weight of history behind it, only to be counteracted by her 'not caring'. She flipped the cover open and began reading...

**_Page 1_ **

**_I have procured these set of parchments bounded by twine and leather as to document the monthly entries regarding my newly and legally won prize, a travel snail by which I have named it "Bessie", as per Plantar tradition set by—_ **

"Urgh, old man. Why did you write like this? What's with all the words?" Sasha complained, barely finishing her first paragraph. The first few pages were really just a compressed history of Hop Pop's life. It was... detailed, to say the least.

Thus, she made the wise decision of skipping these pages until she reached the parts about the snail. Unless Hop Pop decided to quiz her on his life story instead of Bessie, then she was sure she'd be fine.

**_Page 12_ **

**_I decided to skip a few pages for future use, should this ever become a snail's journal. I'll fill them later when I finally get my first snail. _**

**_Just today, during my daylight hours in the Wartwood's valley fair, I had share glance with a majestic creature on display; a travel snail almost twice of my tallness. Her shell was pristine and untouched and I realized she was fair of a young age, much so than the ones sold from Wartwood's neighbouring town. _**

**_T'was the grand prize, the sharply dressed salamander said. For whom that can acquire an unreasonable number of tickets from the large variety of fair games, shall be prized the young snail. I don't know why but I felt a connection to her, something new to me. _**

_"I'm gonna win this snail!", the young frog announced from on top of a wooden box. The folks around turned to stare and watch. They whispered and mocked but he felt no nervousness; he was simply stating the truth. "I gonna win her and we'll have grand adventures! Just like the stories Pops tell!"_

_So says Hopadiah Plantar._

**_Ma quickly pulled me down and was scolding me for such inappropriate behaviour, but I could not for the life of me remember what she said. _**

**_Page 13_ **

**_I went back to the fair the next day with nothing but a bag of gold and copper, and the clothes on my back. I took every carnival game, every challenge and every lottery. I spent a whole year's savings and worked my behind off. Some of the stall owners sympathized with me, wanting to give me a free game._ **

**_As for the folks by the stalls, I refused their offer. If I were to make Bessie my own, it shall be from my own hands._ **

"Sheesh, old man. Romantic, much?" Sasha muttered to herself.

Though, she understood what he meant about not wanting to accept help. The teen didn't like to take charity and any debt she had, she'd always try to pay in full. It was also why she had such a good reputation in school; her deals are always good.

It wasn't out of honour or anything. She just hated owing things to people.

Sasha flipped the short page for the next one. On the new page were a bunch of crude calculations, probably about Hopadiah's money management. Sasha wasn't a fan of math, though it wasn't like she was bad at it.

So she ignored that page and moved on to the one next to it.

**_Page 15_ **

**_It's been a few days and I can taste victory already. _**

**_I spent a lot of time with Bessie and learned so much about her. She's pretty much eats anything but has a taste for fungi. She also likes music and well, I'm not good at playing instruments but I can learn. I think she'll like it. _**

**_And yes, I named her Bessie. Thought it'd be cute. _**

Underneath the paragraph were several sketches of different instruments, most of which had been crossed out with think black lines. There was also a small doodle of Bessie, surrounded by musical notes.

"Aww..." Sasha cooed in delight. It was adorable to know that Hop Pop had tried various instruments to learn music, but from the looks of it he only managed to learn the recorder aka the baby's instrument. She wasn't saying that she hated the recorder, just that everyone learned to use it at some point in school.

Even when the next page turned, Sasha still giggled at the thought of the old frog playing a recorder.

**_Page 16_ **

**_It has taken me a good few days but I have finally done it! I have acquired the number of tickets necessary to afford her. A lot of blood, sweat and tears had been poured to get here, and a lot of money spent for sure. It was time to claim my prize._ **

_"You shall be mine! And we'll be the best of friends!" Hopadiah yelled, jumping on his bed. Well, not really. He yelled in the form of a whisper since Ma would've scolded him otherwise. Something to do about bothering the neighbours. _

_It seemed as if they have less of them each year._

**_As usual, I went to valley fair but not for the purpose of tickets today. No, this time, it shall be the last day I spend in this place. During my days of earning tickets, I had gotten accustomed to the folks that worked there. There was Charlie the young frog who manned the cotton candy stall, Omaha the gruff-looking toad who sells balloons and of course, Jiminy the talking magical cricket._ **

**_I wasn't sure if Jiminy was real or my eyes were deceiving me, but apparently he got eaten by a child the day before so there goes that. _**

**_When I arrived by the ticket booth salamander, he was still in his sharp red-and-white carny suit and hat. With the tickets in my satchel, I politely ordered, "One snail, please."_ **

**_Though, a bunch of people had stared at me in a weird fashion. Do these people not know what politeness means?_ **

_"O-ONE SNAIL P-PLEASE!" Hopadiah cried, tears in his eyes. He was too emotional, finally being able to earn his right to ride Bessie. After all, he did spend every day at the carnival and subsequently, with Bessie. The two shared a deep as it is. Now all that's left was the pesky paperwork. Assuming that there was paperwork. _

_"Oh sorry, kiddo. I already sold the snail." He replied with a chipper tune. Hop Pop felt my heart ripped out and put back it but in a slight angle. Painfully and lingering, but not enough to kill him. _

_"W-what do you mean you _sold _it?!" he desperately asked. How could he have sold it? She wasn't on sale. If she was, he would've seen a price tag. _

_"Sold it, with two bags of gold!" The sharply-dressed salamander pointed at the large bags at the back, filled to the brim with glistening gold coins; more than all the money he'd ever seen in his entire young frog life. _

_"Really though, the snail was like fifty pieces of silver. That boy got duped, haha! Kkhack!, the lizard laughed uglily, choking on his words by the end._

_He looked around, frantically searching for the so-called 'boy'. It did not take long, however, as he immediately saw the baby-faced newt, the one unworthy of her. _

**_Page 17_ **

**_He was jumping all over her, yelling like a maniac and rubbing his filthy money-grubbing hands on her shell, and he wasn't even driving her! She was being pulled by a butler of sorts and was clearly distressed! _**

**_All that hard work, all the sacrifices I'd taken, only to be foiled by the likes a spoiled little boy. _**

"... Woah.", Sasha gasped.

Bessie wasn't originally Hop Pop's? What a turn of events! Though, she knew that Hop Pop will get Bessie at some point in the future, seeing that she was here and not somewhere else, but the old frog had a way of writing dramatic tales.

She flipped the page in gleeful impatience, wanting to see what happened next. She wasn't sure how Hop Pop was going to get the snail, but she was sure it would in some honourable and legal man—

**_Page 18_ **

**_I have decided. I'm going to steal her. _**

"Welp, spoke too soon." Sasha exclaimed with a deadpan expression. She continued reading regardless, curious of what'd happened next.

At least, she would if it weren't for the front door suddenly bursting open and a bunch of empty corn stalks flowed in. Sasha jumped on the couch in surprise, hugging the book for dear life. From the door, Hop Pop shuffled his way, wearing his full farmer attire.

"HOPADIAH, WHAT THE HECK?!"

"Sorry, Sasha. I was going to put this here in the cellar but the door's jammed. I'm gonna have to go through the inside door." He clapped his gloved hands clean but suddenly stopped. "Wait, did you just call me 'Hopadiah'?"

Sasha blushed. "Pft, n-no. Why would I do that?"

Hop Pop deviously smiled. "Look, if you wanted to read in peace, I advise you go to the barn. Because this here," he patted the vegetation. "is going to take a while."

Sasha stared at the old frog, still clutching on the book. "Uhh... Yeah, sure. I'll just, umm, go, I guess." Standing up, she immediately walked briskly to the door but then, stopped and turned back to the table. "I'll just take this with me." She said, grabbing the basket of goodies with her free hand.

Hop Pop watched as the teen left his view, his devious smile still going strong. He sighed, knowing fully what was happening. "What a troublesome girl..."

Suddenly, a loud crack boomed from outside, startling him. "What in the world?!" Hop Pop shouted in surprise.

From outside, Sprig's voice was heard. "Hop Pop! I got the door open! And uh... I got the door." He waved a detached handle in the air, visible from the living room window.

* * *

Meanwhile, Sasha walked towards Bessie's barn with a brisk pace, somewhat impatiently. It was no different than any other Earth barn, just that it had a greenish moss-like hue. She entered the building through a small door and after turning on the mushrooms, saw the snail, Bessie, sleeping peacefully.

Sasha doesn't really know much about snails and she's pretty sure snails here were very different than the ones she knows. For one thing, Earth snails weren't basically living cars and speak to you.

The blonde teen walked up the to sleeping snail and sat next to it, leaning on its shell. It was surprisingly comfortable and the lighting wasn't so bad, so Hop Pop wasn't lying. Shifting a bit, she grabbed a snack from the basket and took a bite, opening and continuing her read.

**_I don't know much about who this fella is, but he in the way between me and my one true snail. _**

**_If this is my last entry, I'm either captured or dead. Preferably not both. _**

_The young Hopadiah Plantar crept his way through the woods late at night, careful and discreet. The sharp chirping of crickets and glimmering fireflies were his only companions, constantly accompanying him on his trek. After several hours of brisk walking, he finally reached the location; a large fenced-off land, at least five times the size of his backyard lake, with a huge white mansion in the middle._

_While the outside of the fence was a pure jungle, the inside was completely trimmed and proper. It had gardens, fountains and all sorts of decorations, including an oddly-muscular statue made of marble._

_Climbing up the fence wasn't difficult; after all, he is a frog, but Hopadiah had no idea where to start looking for Bessie, his would-be snail. He admitted how he didn't do any research regarding who currently owned her, but no one in their right mind would own land this big, especially not smack dab in the middle of dangerous jungle._

_But that wouldn't stop Hopadiah Plantar. He was no quitter. _

_It didn't take that long though. After what was just ten minutes, he finally found her. _

_"Bessie!" Hopadiah cheered, seeing the snail in a cramped pen inside a large unremarkable building. Bessie blinked and made a short chirp, something the young frog accepted as a reply of endearment. _

_With a smile, Hopadiah ran towards Bessie and hugged her tight, slime and all. That had the unfortunate effect of covering him with said slime but he didn't care. The hug felt like hours, though it was cut short as Hopadiah quickly snapped back into reality in panic. _

_"Oh jeez, we got to get you outta here!", he exclaimed. Looking around, he found a rusty latch and easily pulled it open, unlatching the pen gate (the slime somehow made a good lubricant)._

_Not sure how but right after opening the pen, the mushrooms in the barn lit up, and Hopadiah gasped at what he saw. _

**_Page 20_ **

**_The building was filled with snails of all sorts, some young and some old, all cramped up in tight pens. Bessie was lucky to have her own pen but even then, it was way too small for a snail like her. The worst part was that even in the dimly lit room, I could see the pain and abuse on their shells. _**

**_I was horrified. _**

"Oh. My. Gosh. What the heck?!" Sasha angrily yelled at the book. How could someone treat their uh, pet, like that?! In her frustration, she had accidentally woken up Bessie, who drowsily chipped its usual chirpy self.

Bessie turned its head sideways and glanced at Sasha, too immersed in the book. The snail looked at the familiar book and chirped happily before laying its head on the ground, staring as Sasha continued to read without her noticing.

_"We gotta help them! All of them!" Hopadiah declared. Looking around, he searched for anything that could break the locks. Bessie's might had been unsecured but the rest looked like they've been there for weeks, months even. _

_"I got it!" He said, grabbing a shovel used to throw in snail feed. With it, he hit every latch and lock he could find, breaking the pens open. Naturally, the snails all crawled out of their cramped homes and into the more spacious corridor in between._

_"FREE! YOU ARE ALL FREE!"_

The next page, Hop Pop had scribbled a doodle of himself on Bessie, extremely muscular and leading a charge with a wave of snails behind him as if it was biblical. Little drawn lightning strikes were in the background, and Hop Pop was holding a sword in the doodle. It was also the only page in the book with colour.

Sasha stared at the picture for a good minute before turning the page again, her face emotionless.

**_I had successfully released all the snails in captivity but it wasn't easy. For a madman stood in my way, one who would become the bane of my life for all eternity._ **

_"Huh, what? Who are you?" said a young newt by the name of Francis. He was younger than Hopadiah and had strolled into the building with his pyjamas on and a lantern in hand. His eyes were still bleary and tired, but he immediately turned mostly awake once he saw the frog and snail. "H-hey! What are you doing with my snail?!"_

_"Uh..."_

_"G-guards! There's an intruder!" shouted Francis frantically. "He's stealing my snail!"_

_"Oh for the love of—" Hopadiah quickly reached for his pocket and grabbed a small pouch. From it, he threw its contents directly at the half-awake Francis. "POCKET SAND!"_

_The sand flew across the air and into his face, blinding the young newt boy. His eyes watered heavily, followed immediately by Francis who cried in pain._

_"GO GO GO!" Hopadiah cried, waving his arms towards the door. The snails, in a fit of panic, all stampede their way across the hall and through the large door, ultimately burying the pained Francis underneath their slimy bottoms. Hopadiah climbed on top of Bessie and with a 'yip yip', the two rushed out, being the last snail to escape. _

**_Page 21_ **

**_Ever since that day yesterday, I promise that I will never allow such harm to befallen my dear Bessie. She's not just a snail to me; she's family. I knew it from the very beginning and I wouldn't have had it any other way. _**

Another picture was shown at the bottom of the page, though this time it wasn't a doodle. Instead, it was an actual photograph, taped neatly at the empty space. The colours had long since faded over time, leaving nothing but browns and greys.

In it was the young Hopadiah Plantar, alongside the snail Bessie who was much smaller than what she is now. Hopadiah looked similar to his older self, except younger, smaller, brighter and had a tuft of hair similar to Sprig. He also wore a farmer's hat and had a cattail stalk in his mouth.

The two looked so happy. At least, Hopadiah did. Bessie looked pretty much the same other than size.

Sasha dragged her fingers across the photo. It was as if she felt the history behind and reading this, she couldn't help herself but feel sad. Hop Pop and Bessie are the same as Sasha and her own friends; Anne and Marcy. And even though he only knew Bessie for a few days, he was already running through hell to save her.

Would Sasha do the same?

Here she was, stuck in the middle of a different world, and she hasn't even _tried_ to look for her friends. She didn't even ask for help.

Sasha was afraid of the answer.

"Haa..." a sigh escaped from her lips, tired and riddled with guilt. Though, the feeling was short as a tweet took her by surprise. "Kiii!"

"Woah! Bessie?!" She exclaimed at the snail staring at her. Bessie tilted her head cutely to the side, a wordless response. Sasha instinctively stroked the snail's head, causing Bessie to purr. "Did I wake you up? Sorry about that, girl."

"I'm just... Having issues, that's all."

Bessie blinked slowly and chirped, rubbing her head on Sasha's arm; the one holding the book. "Oh, this thing? I guess you know what it is, huh? I mean, you kinda grew up with it."

Bessie shook her head up and down excitedly, making pitched snail noises. An eyebrow raised by Sasha before she looked back and forth between the book and Bessie. "What, you want me to read it?"

Bessie chirped in agreement. In turn, Sasha shrugged. "Alright then. If you say so..."

And so, the human teen continued reading. This time, however, with a snail by her side, watching and listening to every word.

* * *

"Hey, where's Sasha?"

The Plantars have a small tradition of eating together with every meal. Some might say it wasn't really a tradition; more of a cultural habit, but it technically counted as one. Since it was in the evening, the Plantars all come together to have dinner at the table.

Except for Sasha. Something Sprig had to voice out.

"I haven't seen her all day." Polly said with a bowl in front of her, just ready to be topped with whatever concoction Hop Pop made. Something only the Plantars are immune to.

"Well," Hop Pop grunted as he placed a heavy pot full of dinner on the table. "Last time I saw her, she went to Bessie's barn. The living room was a tad too busy at the moment."

Sprig, also with a howl, looked sideways worriedly. "Maybe we should check up on her. You know, to see how she's doing?"

"Well, alright then. Let's go check the barn first." Hop Pop agreed, taking off his mitts.

The frogs (and pollywog) arrived at the barn just a couple of minutes later, noticing the barn door slightly ajar. Hop Pop walked up to the door and pulled it open more, letting some moonlight enter the building unhindered.

Before the old frog could turn on the mushrooms, Sprig quickly tugged his shirt. "Wait, Hop Pop! Look!" he said, whispering.

Squinting his eyes, he noticed what Sprig meant. It was a bit dark but the lanky figure was noticeable, even in the shadows. The door opened even more, shining natural light on the figure.

The Plantars crept closer, careful from waking her up. Hop Pop glanced at the book and was surprised; Sasha had read over half of its contents. He expected that it would take at least two weeks to finish and here, Sasha could finish in two days.

A small smile grew on the old frog's face.

"Come on, kids. Let's head back." He said quietly. Sprig turned to him with surprise. "Wait, we're just gonna leave her?"

"We're gonna get her a blanket to sleep with, and maybe a pillow. I don't want to disturb her, that's all." He assured his grandson. It worked since Sprig nodded in response.

After leaving and coming back, Hop Pop struggled and pulled Sasha's unconscious body onto the flat ground, a pillow placed to support her head. He draped the blanket over her and placed the book just nearby, for Sasha to read again. All of the Plantars left one by one, leaving Sasha peacefully to rest.

"Goodnight, Sasha. Sweet dreams." Hop Pop whispered one last time.

In her dreams, Sasha smiled.


	9. Anne and the Toads

_Drip_

_Drip_

_Drip _

Droplets dripped from the cracked ceiling onto the cobblestone floor in a sequential fashion. _Drip drip drip_, the sounds bounced off from the stone. Moss slowly grew out of the point of impact and slowly spread itself around it, like an infection.

Prison cells in Toad Tower were nothing like those back on Earth. It was dark, wet and obviously failed any form of safety standard. There were skeletons behind the bars, still chained up to the wall. Either the guards weren't doing the job of disposing of the body or they simply didn't care. The worst part was that it was difficult to decide which one was worse.

The cells only had one small window, allowing moonlight to enter the otherwise pitch-black room. The torches by the walls were lit but grew dimmer every minute. It was like this for most days, rarely had the torches extinguish. But even then, the room was mostly dark with shadows creeping in every corner.

Suddenly, the sole door opened, letting more light flood the room. Even the hallways were well-lit than the prisons. From the outside walked in a battle-scarred toad, wearing a commander's leather armour and cape, fitting for someone of his position. Following him were two other toads, slightly smaller than him and obviously younger, carrying pikes. They looked inexperienced.

The two toads briskly stepped towards the torches, refuelling them so the flame glowed brighter. With every renewed torch, the room started to shine and the shadows disappeared one by one.

"Good evening, Anne. It seems you're wide awake as usual." He spoke, his tone matching his intimidating appearance.

Inside the cells was a young teenage girl, her right foot shackled to the wall by an iron chain. Her skin was of dark tone and her hair was reminiscent to a bird's nest. She wore a collared purple shirt with an emblem in the centre and some short pants. She was also missing a shoe.

The girl, Anne, said nothing to respond.

"Quiet as ever, I see. I'm surprised you managed to last this long but then again, you're quite lucky. Toad Tower doesn't often take prisoners." The amphibian spoke. "Honestly, if you had only told me the whereabouts of your companions, you would've walked free."

"Oh yeah, into the forest of death." Anne finally replied, sarcastically too. "I maybe fourteen years old but even I'm not that stupid. Besides, I told you before and I'll tell you again; I. Don't. Know."

"_LIAR!_" He slammed his large hands onto the cell bars, shaking the room with an echo. Dust briefly sprinkled from the cracked ceiling and Anne recoiled from the volume.

The toad took deep breaths, calming down his anger before growling in annoyance. "Why is it so hard for you to cooperate? If I secure your safety once I let you go, will that suffice?"

"Well, I can't cooperate! For one thing, I don't even know if I can trust you! And two, I don't know where they are! I've been in this crummy place for over two weeks now. Do you really think I know?!"

He growled. "You are the only one capable of knowing! No one else!" With a throw of his cape, he turned around and stomped his way out to the door. He looked at his compatriots and yelled. "YOU TWO!"

"Uh yes, sir?!" "Huh? Oh, sir!"

"Keep watch of our prisoner! If she does anything escape-worthy, stop her with whatever means necessary. Understood?!"

"Yes, sir!" "Right away, sir!" The two toads nervously saluted, watching their superior leave the room. With a pull, he shut the prison door with a bang, scaring the remaining people. After a few seconds of silence, sure that he won't suddenly return, the two toads sighed in relief.

"Gosh, he's so scary…" One toad said, pulling out a small handkerchief and wiping his forehead. His voice was somewhat pitched and he wore an oddly curved helmet, reminiscent of an upside-down boat.

"Orders are orders. No point complaining about that." The other remarked. His froggy skin tone was reddish in colour and he had horns growing out of his head which probably led to his lack of headwear. Despite looking gruffer than his partner, he still looked fairly young.

Putting their weapons by the wall, the two quickly grabbed themselves a chair and sat down, knowing it was going to be a long day.

* * *

_Schwing-clang!_

"Oh no, oh geez…!"

Anne, who was then asleep, groggily opened her eyes to the noise. She had slept on a pile of hay by the centre of the cell, seeing that it was the only place not moist or hard. With her half-awake consciousness, she inspected the room in order to find the source of that racket.

There, by the wall, was the helmet-wearing toad, slowly picking up some weapons from the ground. He had accidentally tipped over the rack, causing its contents to fall out which in turn, caused the loud noise. His partner, the red toad, was by the other wall, staring at him bemusedly.

"Aren't you going to help me?" The helmet toad asked. In response, the red toad just shrugged. "Eh, not my fault. So not my problem."

Looking up by the window, Anne noticed the moon still up in the sky. Night has yet to pass, meaning she hadn't been asleep for long. But since she was awake now, there was no way she was going back to sleep again, not with that noise.

Nothing else to do then. "Hey."

The two toads froze for a second and turned towards her. Anne, sensing the heavy atmosphere, continued. "What are you guys here for?"

The helmet toad's eyes shifted. "Uh… Huh?"

"I mean, this place kinda sucks. So I just thought you–" She rubbed her head awkwardly. "– didn't choose to work here."

"Oh, well–"

"Hey!" shouted the red toad. "Staple! Don't talk to the prisoner!"

"Eep! Right! Sorry, Wright!" Staple, the helmet-wearing toad, frantically went back to pick up the weapons. Anne huffed in annoyance as the conversation stopped so abruptly. Thus, she turned to the other toad instead. "What about you?"

"What about me?" He replied with an angry tone.

"Why are you here for?"

He scoffed. "Heh, why should I tell a prisoner like you?"

Anne shrugged her shoulders. "I mean, it is a long night and I don't see you guys leaving any time soon. So why not? Like, aren't you guys bored?"

The red toad, known as Wright, opened his mouth to respond but nothing came out. He couldn't think of a good answer. He was starting to get bored and it wasn't like the prisoner could escape that easily. She was taller than them for sure but her body was so lanky and weak, like a twig. Thinking about it, she somewhat looked like a small tree.

"I chose to come to Toad Tower. Outside of that is none of your business." He spoke.

Anne's eyes shot open. "Wait, you_ wanted_ to come here? Like, why? This place is horrible!"

"Hey!" He stood up from his chair. "Toad Tower is the sole protector against all threats from outside of the valley! If it weren't for us, all of the valley's folks would've been food paste!"

"Pssh, you expect me to believe that?" Anne waved it off. "Sounds like a load of malarkey."

Wright gritted his teeth in anger. How dare this talking flesh-tree talk about Toad Tower this way?! Its existence was vital to the valley and its people. Everyone knew that and this thing had the nerve to insult it?

"Why you little–!" He stomped his way to the cell, ready to choke the life out of her but was stopped by Staple, blocking his path. "WAIT, STOP! WE'RE NOT SUPPOSED TO HURT THE PRISONER!"

"But she–!"

"Commander Grime will definitely scold us if we do!"

Immediately, the blood from his face drained at his words, his eyes and mouth gawking. The helmet toad was right; despite the insults she threw, Anne was still important to their commander. After all, there were more of her kind running around the place, probably even in the valley. This flesh-tree was the only way to find them.

The red toad clicked his tongue and glanced to the floor. "Fine." Unbeknownst to the helmet-wearing one, Anne childishly stuck her tongue out at him. All Wright could do was grit his teeth.

* * *

After a minute or so, everything went back to its quiet calm atmosphere. Anne was still behind bars and from the way the moon looked, daylight was not even close. She could try to go back to sleep, considering her initial idea of starting conversations went awry, but the pile of flattened hay was not a comfortable bed.

"Ugh, so bored…" She groaned loudly. She was in no place to demand entertainment but that wouldn't stop her from complaining about it. "Seriously, what do you guys even do here for fun?"

"Oh!" Staple clapped his thick amphibious hands. "We sometimes play charades! And every month, the commander has us do some military drills. They're supposed to be serious but it's not like there's any difference."

The red toad glared at his partner. "Hey! I told you not to talk to the prisoner!"

"Oh come on, Wright. It's not like she's going to escape or anything."

"Yep, kinda stuck here with you guys." To emphasize, Anne rattled the chains shackled to her. "Also, charades? Really?"

"Charades can be fun." Wright crossed his big beefy toad arms. "Not like you'd understand that, being a monster and all."

"Hey! I came from civilization too! Where do you think these clothes came from?" Anne argued, pulling her shirt forward. Wright simply raised an eyebrow. "That's a shirt?"

Flabbergasted, Anne sprawled her body on the ground and groaned. "And here I thought getting stuck in an alternate universe was bad enough. Seriously, you guys need a hobby. I mean, what do you in your free time?"

Staple thought about it and shyly spun his foot, arms behind his back. "Well…" He blushed. "I like to take care of plants and flowers. My parents own a boutique, so it runs in the family."

"See, there you go! Now we're getting somewhere." Anne exclaimed with a finger gun. "And what about you, Mr Clean?"

"What did you call me?"

"Mr Clean. You know, because you don't have–" She motioned her hand just above her head. "You know what? Just ignore it. I forgot you guys don't have a TV here."

Wright was a bit confused but he nonetheless ignored her remark. "I often train in the arena. It's where all the dummies are. Other than that, I maintain my armour and weapon."

"Seriously? All you do is train? Man, it sounds like you're from some kind of military family or something."

The red toad laughed. "Ha, I wish! I'm actually from a family of carpenters; a long line of carpenters. I would've become the seventh generation too if I didn't… come here."

His partner gasped. "Wright, you never told me that!"

"It was _none of your business_." He hissed.

Anne nodded. "So why change? That doesn't sound so bad."

Wright groaned heavily. "Urgh, you have no idea how much I hated being there! All-day, I fix furniture, make tools and cut planks. Every. Single. Day. IT WAS DRIVING ME MAD!" A sigh escaped his lungs. "That kind of life just wasn't for me. I wanted some action! I wanted to do something better for the valley! So I joined Toad Tower."

From his side, he heard a long drawn awe. His eyes shifted towards the one person there; his partner. "Wow, Wright! That's so cool!"

"Heh, it is pretty cool." He huffed, puffing his chest up a bit in pride. Anne wasn't very good at reading people but she can tell when someone has an ego. So she rolled her eyes in response, bemused.

"So we know what's up with Mr Clean. What about you, uh…"

"The name's Staple!"

She snapped her fingers and pointed. "Right, Staple! I knew that. What's your story?"

Giddily, he responded. "My parents are both florists and so was my sister. We were really close too but then, she joined Toad Tower. So I followed after her."

"Aww, that's so sweet." Anne praised. "Where is she now?"

"Oh, she's dead."

Anne, with the atmosphere suddenly turning awkward, breathed in sharply. "Aww… Sorry about that…"

Feeling some sort of misunderstanding, he quickly took back his statement. "Oh no, no, no, that's not what I meant. I mean she's dead _to me_. She's still alive and in Toad Tower. We just don't talk anymore."

"Well, I'm an only child so, cool…?" Anne replied, feeling somewhat iffy with her choice of words. Staple simply shrugged and continued. "I mean, when I first came here, I realized she changed a lot. So we had a few fights and we're not that close like we used to be."

"Then why don't you leave? You said it yourself, dude. You only came here to be with your sister." Anne asked, causing Wright to laugh. "'CAUSE HE'S A COWARD! HAHAHA!"

Staple shrunk back from his partner's tease, fiddling his stubby fingers. Anne, in a fit of anger, retaliated. "Hey, man! Don't call him things like that!" She said, walking towards Wright, the bars separating the two.

"No no, he's right. I am a coward." Staple said before Wright could argue back. "You're only allowed to leave Toad Tower if you can, well, _leave_ Toad Tower."

Raising an eyebrow, she asked. "What does that mean?" Wright scoffed at her question, one that Anne ignored.

"Toad Tower is located at the edge of the valley. Our job has been to protect the valley from outside threats." Wright exclaimed, reiterating some previous points, before continuing. "That also means we're the closest to said threats. Joining is easy; just hitch a ride with one of the tax collectors on their way here. But if you want to leave..."

He pointed at Anne's solitary window. "You have to be able to walk through the forest _and live._"

Anne didn't need to look out the window to know what he meant. During her stay here, she'd been stuck in the same jail cell from the start. The window was her only glimpse of the outside world and from the looks of it, it was not kind to anyone, human and toad alike. Poisonous bugs the size of bears and carnivorous birds the size of buildings, all surrounded by thick woods and dark skies that hide even their own shadows.

Her throat felt tight.

"So you're stuck here?" Anne asked, her hands on the cell bars as she turned to Staple who continued to fiddle with his fingers. He quietly nodded in response. "I-It's not like they're treating me badly here. Just that they won't let me ride with the tax collectors. And I can't join them either, because leaving is the same as leaving my post and I'll get punished for it!"

"T-that sounds like slavery!" Anne exclaimed in horror. Was that the case for other toads here too? She only knew these two plus Grime but the battle-scarred toad definitely stayed on purpose. How many of them didn't want to be here?

Wright's eyes bulged by her accusation and growled. "It ain't slavery, prisoner! We all have wages, work benefits and even vacation periods!" He gritted his teeth. "Besides, he should've picked a different job then. Being a soldier at Toad Tower is a lifelong commitment. Coming here just to stay with family was a stupid reason!"

Anne was seething in anger at the red toad, her grip tightening. Hearing him slander his partner like that, even if it wasn't a very smart decision, just made her blood boil. Instead of barking like a rabid animal however, she instead turned to Staple who was slowly shrinking with each statement.

"Are you really going to let him talk to you like?!" Anne called out at Staple, just barely keeping her anger in check. She just couldn't stand seeing people be pushed around like that. Staple flinched but stood quietly.

Wright turned to his partner and scoffed. He didn't have to say anything but everyone knew what he meant. Both him and Anne shared the same feeling that moment, even though the reason was different; disappointment. The human teen decided to not push any further and went back to her hay sack. Wright as well leaned back, not even facing his partner. Staple only sighed and continued his post.

Unbeknownst to all three of them, two metal bars were left slightly dented.

* * *

Poke.

Anne felt something touch her thigh. It was light and perfectly harmless but it was enough to momentarily wake her up from her slumber. She, however, ignored it, not caring enough to check.

Poke.

Another one, just moments later. The exact same thigh, the exact same force. She was not yet fully awake but her consciousness was slowly returning. With a frown and a grumble, she turned herself the other way, a meagre attempt in going back to sleep.

Poke.

This time, it was her back. Whatever the blunt object was, it dug itself into her spine, albeit gently. Still, it was enough to annoy her to wake up. All she wanted was to sleep and she couldn't even have that?

"Urgh, what?!" Anne groaned, louder than expected. Rubbing her eyes, she looked at Staple in front of her, holding a broom.

He poked her face.

"Ow! What the heck, dude?!" Anne said, rubbing her nose. The toad recoiled and pulled back the broom. "Sorry, sorry! Just wanted to make sure."

"And uh... The commander wants to meet you, so..." Behind him, Wright grinned as he wiggled some shackles.

* * *

A few minutes later by the front gate, Toad Commander Grime was yelling at a line of younger toads, one of which was wearing his breastplate as pants. "You all are by far THE MOST USELESS GROUP OF TOADS I HAD EVER SEEN!"

He pointed at a yellowish female toad with braids, standing at the side. "You can't shoot straight a single arrow even if your mother's life depends on it!"

"And you," he shouted, pointing at a different toad, this one pudgier. "won't even win a race against a _snail!_"

He then walked in front of the breastplate-pants toad, the latter currently fragile like glass. "As for you..." Grime stared at the toad, looking up and down his entire body. "I don't even want to talk about you."

The breastplate-plate toad cried.

Anne walked into the courtyard, her arms in shackles. The place was filled with more toads than she had ever seen, all of them short but tough-looking. Some were training with crossbows and shooting targets, while others were sparring with one another using weapons likes swords and axes. The courtyard also had an unusual amount of barrels and crates, which Anne assumed to be supplies recently delivered here.

While being led by the two guards, the others nearby all gasped and froze. They stared at her, wondering who and what she was, scared of her and what she could do. She was by far the ugliest creature they had ever seen. All lanky and weird. She was like a tree but made of bones and tissue, not wood. She even had a bird's nest on her head.

It didn't take long for them to reach Grime. Once there, Staple began to stutter. "U-uh, C-c-commander Grime, sir?"

"WHAT?!" Grime yelled angrily, causing the young toad to squeeze himself tight in fear. Grime looked at Staple and sighed, having unintentionally scolded someone who was only doing their job. He may be harsh but he was a man of brutal efficiency and effectiveness. Getting mad at someone who did their duty had a negative effect.

"Hah... What is it, private?" Grime asked, lowering his voice slightly. Staple, still shaken, immediately moved to the side. His partner Wright pushed Anne forward, front and centre of Grime's attention.

The battle-scarred toad glared at the teen. "I see..." With a wave of his hand, Wright and Staple hurriedly marched to the side, standing as straight as possible.

"Good morning, Anne. Did you have a good breakfast?" Grime asked with a fake kindness that even she could see. Anne scoffed, "Didn't have any."

"Really, now? How about this, then? You tell me where your companions are and I'll treat with whatever meal you wish. How about that?"

Anne thought about it through and smiled. "Well, I want pizza!"

The battle-scarred toad blinked. Pizza? Never once had he heard of such a meal and he could confidently say that he knew many different foods. "Might I ask what this 'pizza' is?"

"Nope." She replied, popping the 'p'. "You're gonna have to figure it out yourself. Oh, and if the pizza is bad, I ain't talking!" She added, smirking the whole way.

Grime's expression, initially with a look of disbelief, quickly soured. He forcefully grabbed Anne's collar and pulled her down to eye level. The teen momentarily lost her balance and at such an awkward position, struggled to stay upright.

"Listen here, _beast_. I've kept you here for almost a month and you have been nothing but a waste of my resources. The only reason you live is the information that you carry, so you _will_ tell me where your companions are. Or else, there will be dire consequences."

Anne felt the fear creep up her shoulders and yet, she persevered. With a glare, she growled back. "I. Don't. Know. I didn't know the first time you asked, nor the second and third times, and I still don't know now!"

Every time the two met, Anne would always say the same thing; she doesn't know. And each time, it infuriates him even more. This time was no different but it was, unfortunately to her, the last straw on Grime's back. "If you don't know anything, then YOU ARE USELESS TO ME!"

He turned to the two guards, both of which immediately straightened themselves, and pointed at Staple, surprising him. "You there!"

"U-uh y-y-yes, sir?!"

"Escort our guest to the middle of the forest, shackled! She has played with my patience for far too long!" Glaring at Anne straight in the eyes, he snarled. "Let this be your final lesson."

It didn't even take a second for Anne to understand what he meant. This was her death sentence.

"W-w-wait! You can't do this! I really don't know!" Anne screamed frantically. She tried to run away but was promptly held down by the toads nearby. She struggled but it was all in vain. "I DON'T KNOW!"

"And I don't care anymore! Take her away!" He hissed, not even bothering to look at her. A commander's orders are absolute and Anne was a terrifying unknown; no toad would help her. Once an order is declared, it must be carried out no matter what. Despite the hesitation, the toads still restrained her. They grabbed her arms, legs and body, and pulled her to the door.

This was how she would die. In an unknown world, surrounded by giant humanoid toad soldiers, being hoisted and about to be thrown out into the deadly wilderness as monster chow, and she still never got to find out her friends' whereabouts. Here she was, about to be slaughtered like a whelp.

She refused.

"Ngg…! NO!" Anne shouted, standing her ground with a stomp of her foot. The hard stone floor beneath her cracked under the force, sending several of her assailants stumbling back. Grime, who was content with throwing her out, turned and stared at her in shock. Such strength in such a lanky body? Only one thing could explain this…

"Magic…" He whispered to himself. This changed everything. He turned to the toads she threw off and yelled, "Well, what are you lot waiting for?! Restrain her!"

Hesitantly and one by one, the toads converged on Anne and attempted in stopping her. Such strength was new to her and in the moment of desperation, there was no way to fully control it. In fact, she hadn't even realized it yet. She might have thrown them off a bit but slowly and steadily, they were able to dogpile the human teen.

"RGGH!" Anne grunted, trying to free herself. Roughly ten toads in full or partial armour were currently laid on her in a dogpile and whatever powers she had, she couldn't call it once more.

Grime felt his heart beating quickly, surprised and nervous of the ordeal. He wasn't skilled in the fields of magic but he knew it when he saw one. But this was unlike any magic he had ever seen himself. With Anne restrained, however, he sighed in relief.

"C-COMMANDER!" Hearing that, another sigh escaped him. He looked upwards, just above the walls of Toad Tower. There, a single toad was waving their arms in panic. "WE HAVE A PROBLEM!"

"Just say it!" Grime loudly yelled back.

"B-BUILLOTINE ANTS!"

Immediately upon hearing the name, Grime's eyes widened. Turning back, he barked at the toads nearby. "All soldiers to defensive positions! GO, GO, GO!"

Immediately, the site went into chaos. Toads all around ran into positions, grabbing spears and crossbows, and frantically wearing armour as fast as they could. Grime continued barking orders and sooner or later, Anne felt the weight on her slowly lessen.

The teen groaned in pain. Sure, nothing happened to her but she was still pinned down by ten or so battle-ready toads. She was glad she was even able to breathe back then. Just as she tried to stand up, her arms still restrained by iron shackles, she felt a small rumbling underneath her feet.

"U-uh, what's going on?!" Anne asked though everyone was too busy to answer. The moment that toad soldier shouted something about ants, it sent everyone on a frenzy. They had all forgotten about her and probably even didn't notice the shaking she felt. The ground continued to rumble and shake but after a moment or so, it stopped.

Just for a moment.

"W-waaAAHH!" Anne screamed as her lanky human body was suddenly sent flying backwards along with rubble and dirt. Dust filled the air aggressively and as it quickly dissipated, a pair of large mandibles appeared, sticking out of the ground and with it, a giant crimson ant crawled its way to the surface.

"Holy guacamole…!" Anne gasped, watching the ant burst completely out of the newly-dug hole. The ant was easily the size of a car but alive and scary. Its antennas twitched at every movement while its mandibles clamped open and closed like a pair of large scissors.

Grime, who was preoccupied with the ensuing chaos, turned to see the ant as it crawled its way to Anne, the latter of which paralyzed in fear. Wordlessly, he grabbed an iron war-axe and with his mighty toad legs, jumped high above the insect and slammed it into its thorax. The axe buried deep through the hard exoskeleton, causing the ant to rile up in anguish.

Grime held onto his axe as the ant continued its frenzy, neither unable to remove the weapon. Realizing this, the toad jumped off of the ant and landed directly next to the scared Anne, leaving his axe embedded. The ant turned towards the duo and glared, its mandibles twitching in rage.

The ant screeched loudly, causing harm to Grime's earlobes. While stunned, the ant charged madly at him, taking him by surprise.

"Look out!" shouted Anne, jumping towards the scarred toad and pushing both of them out of the way. In its charge, the ant crashed into a few barrels, breaking them open and covered in a clear slippery liquid, some of which even splashing on her hand. The ant screeched in frantic, running away from the two.

"Oh, yuck!" Anne exclaimed in disgust, shaking her arm to remove the stuff. Unable to completely remove it, she rubbed some between her fingers, feeling its slippery properties. "Wait, is this oil?"

* * *

While this was occurring, more holes started to pop up in the courtyard and from it, more and more giant ants poured out. Some toads fought them off as best as they could while others stayed on the walls, using their crossbows to support both inside and outside the castle. There were even ballistae lined up, killing off any ants with one hit. However, a sizeable portion had cowered in fear, panicking and running away.

Grime stood back up, groaning in pain. He still heard the ringing in his ears from that powerful noise, something that would have affected him more than others. Being a veteran, one could say his senses are heightened despite his age, including hearing. He should have seen the signs but instead, he was caught off-guard and suffered for it.

Toad Tower was being invaded and they were failing at countering it. The castle had stood from even before he was a part of it and he refused to let it fall during his time as Toad Commander. He looked around and saw many of his soldiers running in fear, losing their weapons in the process.

"FIGHT BACK, YOU COWARDS!" Grime shouted in anger. Despite his absolute orders, they continued to panic and scream. "YOU WORTHLESS EXCUSE OF SOLDIERS! YOU DARE CALL YOURSELVES TOADS?!"

He grabbed his head and groaned, the ringing still persistent. It was hard to think straight when his head was hurting. Before he could do anything else, however, he was pulled away but Anne's shackled hands.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" Grime yelled at the teen, too surprised to react. Anne continued to pull him until they were behind a few crates and out of view. Grime pulled his arm away and hissed. "LET GO OF ME, YOU CREATURE!"

Despite flinching, she talked back. "Shut it, dude! I've got a plan but you have to trust me on this!"

"And why would I trust a creature like yourself? How will I know you won't help destroy Toad Tower?"

"Because if this place gets destroyed, I'll die anyway." She answered with determination.

Grime couldn't find an argument to that. She was right; if Toad Tower fell, she'd be stuck in-between who knows how many giant ants in the most dangerous location in the valley. To ensure her survival, she had to help the toads even though they tried to throw her out. There was no other choice.

The scarred toad growled. "Fine. I'll listen. Now, what would be this plan of yours?"

"Before I tell you, you got to promise me one thing."

Grime scoffed. "A promise with a beast? I'd rather die!"

"_Then die._ See if I care. You tried to kill me anyway!" Anne yelled back. "But I'm not going to die yet. Not here and not now. My friends are out there and I don't know where they are! That's the truth and until I find them, I'm will not get killed!"

The scarred toad stared at the lanky human girl, astounded by her little speech. It wasn't at all impressive or anything, and she just reiterated the points she told before. But at a high-stress situation like this, there was no gain in lying. The girl was telling the truth.

His heart calmed down, his face expressing nothing. "Fine. What's this promise then?"

"Help me find my friends and a way home. That's all I want." Anne declared. Grime nodded immediately after without hesitation. "I accept. Now tell me about your plan."

"We got to shake on it." Anne said, showing her hand. Though, it was followed by her other shackled one. Grim gave her a confused look.

"What?" He exclaimed.

"You know, a handshake." She shrugged. "To make things official."

Grime looked at her outstretched hand. It was weird, all brown, dry and naked like that. He had never seen anything like her before after all, despite his years of experience. He pulled out his own hand and grabbed hers firmly, adding a little shake.

"The name's Anne, by the way. Anne Boonchuy."

"And I am Grime. My last name is none of your business."

Anne nodded at the response. She was taken aback at how fast he accepted her terms but was internally glad. She turned to a nearby barrel, one that had been slightly leaking out the thick substance from before. "How much of that do you have here?" She asked, pointing at the same barrel.

Grime turned to what she pointed and immediately understood what she meant. He still didn't like the girl but nonetheless, he grinned.

"Enough."

* * *

"HYAHH! TAKE THAT, YOU WALKING TWIGS! I'VE DEALT WITH ENOUGH TERMITES TO KNOW HOW TO DEAL WITH YOU!"

Meanwhile, Wright swung a halberd around, hitting and throwing the nearby ants around. Unlike the one Anne had dealt with, these were the size of dogs back on Earth but far more in terms of numbers. Sometimes he broke through their thick shells and killed them, other times he simply pushed them away. He preferred to have used an axe but this was all he had at the moment.

With him, Staple poked the converging ants with a spear, keeping them away from the two. He wasn't much of a fighter but that didn't stop him from trying. Then again, he was freaking out and scared to his wits. Though, there was no way he could run so long as Wright was fighting. They were partners after all.

"Wright, we're surrounded!" Staple screamed in his high-pitched voice, fearing for his life. Individually, the ants were easy to handle. But ants were rarely alone.

Wright moved back step by step, swinging his halberd around and keeping his distance. At the same time, Staple did the same, poking them as much as he could. A few more steps and the two bumped into one another, covering their backs. One of the ants even got cocky and swiped Wright's weapon, breaking it into two. Nonetheless, they continued with their actions, keeping the ants at bay.

"Staple?"

"Y-yeah, Wright?"

"You're a coward and probably the worst soldier in Toad Tower."

"I know…"

"But…" Wright deeply breathed in. "It's been an honour serving beside you. You're… you're a good toad."

"Wow…" Staple exclaimed, surprised by his words. "That's the nicest thing anyone ever said to me since I got here. Thanks, Wright!"

"Yeah, well it's the only one you'll get! If you tell anyone, I'll kill you. Ya hear?!"

Before the two could continue any further, a mysterious clear liquid fell from above, soaking the duo and the surrounding ants. They screeched in pain, running around in chaos. The dry ants all moved back and away from the soaked ones, avoiding them like a plague. The ones covered by it ran as far as they could, sending the other ants into a frenzy of its own. Some even became weaker, dropping dead after a while.

"Argh! What is this stuff?!" Wright yelled, rubbing as much as he could off of him. Beside him, Staple did the same as he panicked but stopped when a familiar sweet smell tingled his nostrils. He sniffed the liquid covering his form and a few seconds later, his eyes widened in realization.

"This is oil!" He blurted out, surprising his partner who then turned to him. "What?"

Nearby and on top of the walls, Anne had a bucket. From the barrel next to her, she scooped out more of the oil and threw it around the courtyard, splashing anyone in it. Many soldiers were left dumbfounded as they were suddenly covered by the stuff and even more so when the ants started avoiding them.

"Yeah, take that! Now take this! Yeet!" Anne cheered, throwing more and more of the oil around with the bucket. "That's what you get for following your natural instincts!"

Reaching out for more, she discovered that her barrel had emptied, leaving only a shallow amount at the bottom. She turned around and called out, "Yo, dude! I need resupplying here!"

"Get it yourself!" Grime growled. From the walls, he grabbed a whole barrel of the oil and with a grunt, threw it across the courtyard and onto one of the larger ants. The barrel exploded on impact, soaking all the ants nearby and causing them to writhe in pain. He jumped from the wall and onto the centre of the courtyard with a heavy thump.

He watched as all the ants fled back into their holes, followed by a small number of toads chasing after them. Despite all that, he did not smile.

* * *

"W-we did it! We won!" Staple cheered, still soaked in the oil. "I can't believe it! I- Hey, Wright? Why are you still holding onto your weapon?"

It did look like they had won. Even he believed it. But seeing Toad Commander Grime's expression, it did nothing to fill him with confidence. Wright gripped his broken top-half-of-a-halberd tighter.

"It's not over yet." He quietly said. Staple stared at him, bewildered.

Suddenly, the ground shook. This time, it wasn't just Anne that felt it but so did every other toad in the castle. Nervous, she quickly climbed down a ladder and ran towards Grime who, as per his namesake, held a grim expression.

"Did anyone else felt that or was it just me? Please tell me it was just me." Anne pleaded.

Grime's gaze sharpened. "Unfortunately, it's not."

From the litter of holes that strewed all over the courtyard, a massive cloud of dust and dirt erupted like an explosion. The winds were strong, pushing anyone who didn't hold their ground. Nearby equipment was thrown off into the distance, some embedding itself into the floor and walls while others broke on impact. Toad Tower's flagpole swayed back against the force, its flag fluttering aggressively.

And from the dust, a single shadow appeared. One with insectoid eyes.

Anne, having fallen on her butt, coughed harshly from the sudden burst of dust. Breathing heavily, she looked up with watery eyes and saw a gigantic ant, easily double or even triple the size of the one that attacked her. Its thorax or "chest" is roughly the same size as its already gigantic head and unlike the other ants, this one had a pair of long wings. What's worse is that about half of its body was still in its hole.

Anne might not know her insects that well but she was definitely sure this was a queen ant_. The queen ant._

Her mouth was wide agape, her expression astonished and fearful. She finally understood what it was like to be the random bystander in a giant monster movie. And much like the random bystander, nobody knew nor cared what happened to them. So it didn't take much to understand why.

"There you are!" Anne turned to the voice and saw Grime, holding a war-axe in one hand and a small barrel of oil in the other, carrying with him a sadistic smile. With a puff of his chest, he crouched down and jumped straight towards the queen ant, throwing the oil barrel straight onto its head. He then followed it with a mighty blow of his axe, forcing it slightly back. It twitched and reeled in pain but just by moving its head slightly was enough to push Grime back.

The scarred toad skidded across the dirt, leaving a mark in his wake. He looked at the ant's head and saw the cut he placed; it was barely a scratch. Even the oil had little effect on its body. Growling, he continued with his assault, roaring out his war cry. The queen ant retaliated in kind, using her giant legs to attack. But despite the earlier blunder, Grime had fought against his own share of giant beasts. A queen ant is no different.

While the toad commander dodged any attack against him, Anne watched in awe from the distance. She turned around in search of other toads and instead, found herself staring at them cowering. "What are you guys doing?! I thought you were soldiers or something!"

"We are but…" A toad answered, hiding behind a box. "That thing is scary!"

"Yeah! I don't like fighting scary things!"

"I WANNA GO HOME!"

Anne couldn't believe herself. She was stuck in this forsaken place for weeks and only now did she found out it was guarded by these folks? How can they claim to be 'protectors of the valley' if they can't even fight some giant bugs? Didn't they practically grew up with them?!

For some reason, that really pissed her off. "You know what? I'M SCARED TOO! I got thrown into another universe, got jailed by you guys, threatened by what's possibly the second scariest person I've ever met and now, I'm surrounded by giant ants! I'm also super hungry and I miss my friends!"

"But that's not going to stop me from fighting back! Yeah, I'm scared but I'm even more scared of being lost in a wilderness where everything is trying to kill me!" She huffed and puffed, her face turning red. Grabbing a nearby spear, she marched forward to the queen ant, currently preoccupied with Grime.

Quietly, she muttered to herself. "But I'm just a beast, so what do I know?"

Swallowing her fear, Anne charged with her own war cry. It wasn't as powerful as Grime's but it did its job.

"YAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

* * *

Strafe to the left, a hop to the right. Grime dodged the attacks aimed at him with skill and experience. However, after a few minutes, he was starting to feel tired and his muscles screamed to rest. Even one hit from the queen ant's legs could spell disaster to him and with his advanced age, he couldn't keep up as long as he used to. He wasn't old, mind you, but he was far from his prime. While he does try his best to keep up in shape, being a toad commander meant he'd spend most of his time in Toad Tower, doing paperwork and checking on his troops. The last major battle he was involved in was a few years back.

He didn't want to admit it but the chances of him winning this fight were slim.

Nonetheless, he was still about to put up a good fight. The ant's head and body were littered with cuts and scuff marks, some of which would scar it for life. But to his dismay, none had any significant impact on the queen ant's ability. The exoskeleton was simply too think and his axe was far too dull from being ill-maintained.

There was no telling how much longer he'd last.

All of a sudden, Anne the beast came rushing to the ant from its unprotected side and violently stabbed the area between the joints. She played video games a lot and one common weakness against bosses like these were always its joints. After all, you can't put armour over something that's always moving.

The queen screeched in pain and immediately turned to its side, watching Anne struggle to remove the spear lodged deep into its body. Anne looked up and stared at the queen ant's eyes. She could feel the intense glare it had on her.

"… Hehe, oops?" She laughed nervously. The queen ant, however, did not find it amusing and slammed one of its legs towards her.

"Aaah!" Anne yelped as she jumped away, missing by an inch. The queen ant lifted its leg once more to crush her but before it could, loud cries appeared from its other side.

Once more, the queen ant turned and to its surprise, an army of fully-armoured toads all came charging at it in-arms. All were giving out their best war cry, full of determination and the will to live.

"CHAAAARGGE!" Wright cried out upfront. His halberd was still broken, leaving him with a makeshift axe. Staple was by his side screaming, his spear intact.

The queen ant's antennas twitched aggressively. A moment ago, it was busy trying to squash a toad like a bug, irony notwithstanding. Then suddenly this lanky featherless bird stabbed it where it hurt and now, it's surrounded by a flood of mucus green and iron-grey.

The toads all attacked the queen ant as best as they could. Crossbowmen loaded up their weapons with bolts and aimed for the eyes, while spear-, sword- and axemen all slashed onto the ant's hard exterior. Some even climbed up the queen ant and struck its weak spots.

Meanwhile, while it was distracted, the toads on the walls were turning the ballistae towards the courtyard as fast as they could, now that the outside was ant-free. After setting it up again, the toads moved the ballistae downwards, targeting its main body.

"Take aim… and FIRE!" One of the toads shouted, signalling the ballistae with a wave of his sword. One by one, the large arrows shot out from the walls, hitting the queen ant. Some scratched the hard exoskeleton with a deep gash, others got a direct hit and pierced through. If ants could feel the fear and pain of defeat, this one was definitely feeling it.

The queen ant was done playing.

With a heavy and loud roar, it shook off all the toads that climbed onto its body and any nearby. They all clasped their earholes shut, paralysed by such a powerful sound. With the exception of the ant queen itself, everyone was left disoriented and with their guards down. The queen ant quickly searched the battlefield, looking for the one toad that the others had followed.

It didn't take long for it to find Grime, holding his head in discomfort. Without any hesitation, it dived its head towards the toad commander, ready to either eat him whole or crush his bones into dust.

Anne, who quickly recovered from the shock, jumped straight into its way. "NOOOOO!" She shouted.

_BOOOOKKKSSSHHHH_

Stone, earth and gravel spewed out of the impact zone, engulfing the area with thick opaque dust. The toads stared in horror, having watched their esteemed commander kick the bucket. Their knees grew weak and trembled in despair. Despite the sudden burst of courage early on, this was the end for them.

At least, if that was in any other story.

With a powerful burst, the dust cleared immediately and in it remained a small crater with Anne at the centre. The human teen was holding back the queen ant's monstrous mandibles with her own two bare hands in an incredible show of brawn. Her eyes glowed with an intense blue and unlike before, it wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. The ground underneath her feet cracked and crumbled under the pressure, neither side was willing to give up.

"GGGRRHH!" Anne gritted her teeth, using all of her strength to hold the queen ant at bay. She wasn't sure how or where she got this strength but at the moment, she did not care nor notice. She had only one goal in mind and that was keeping Grime alive. Ironic since the toad did try to send her off to die.

Grime gawked in awe; his theory was right. This was the work of magic for sure and a very powerful one at that. But from the looks of it, Anne didn't know how to fully control it. This truly did change everything.

Anne fell on one knee. Still, she refused to cave in. "A-ARE YOU GOING TO DO SOMETHING OR WHAT?!"

Before Grime could answer, he heard a shout from the distance behind him. Turning around, he saw a toad soldier running at him with a barrel of oil.

"S-sir!" the toad soldier called out. He threw the barrel as hard as he could towards his superior officer, off by a few inches. Grime scrunched up his eyes and with a thrust, he jumped and grabbed the barrel in mid-air. As of the moment, Anne was keeping the queen ant steady and since she was holding the mandibles apart, that left one glaring weak spot open; the mouth.

With a toothy grin, Grime rushed forward once landed and stuffed the barrel into the queen ant's mouth. It pulled back in surprise, pushing Anne onto her back with a thud. The queen ant howled, thrashing everything around it. It was as if its insides were melting like butter. Toads all stepped back, avoiding the danger as best as they could.

After a minute of thrashing about, it suddenly stopped moving. There, its body stood tall but frozen. For the first time since the start of the ant invasion, Toad Tower was quiet.

"D-did we do it?" Staple asked out loud, waiting for anyone to answer 'yes'. Though, the silence continued. "I think we did it! Like, for real this time!"

"Hell yeah, we did it! We're the best!" Wright cheered, his weapon up high.

"YEEAAH, WE WON!"

"I DIDN'T DIE! THANK YOU, TOAD DEITIES!"

"Well someone definitely did 'cause there's an eyeball here and it don't belong to me."

"OH, THAT'S MINE! I'VE BEEN LOOKING ALL OVER FOR IT!"

Anne looked around and watched the toads celebrate with joy and pride. She breathed in and out slowly, the adrenaline still rushing through her veins. She looked at her hands, still shaken by the whole ordeal. She was traumatized but alive, and that was more than she could ever ask for.

Anne sighed in relief. "I… am so done with this."

Before she could stand up, the earth rumbled slightly. Her eyes shot open and turned up towards the queen ant who glowed slightly. It pulled its head further back before hurling it forward, snarling at the two figures by its base.

"I SAID I WAS DONE!" Anne screamed. The queen ant roared, startling the rest of the toads.

Grime frowned. He too was tired of this fight and would've preferred if it had ended just then. His mouth gurgled momentarily and a second later, the toad commander spat a glob of his saliva into the queen ant's mouth.

Suddenly feeling something in its throat, it recoiled in surprise and for a few seconds, nothing happened.

Those were short seconds.

The queen ant started to expand and before it could let out one final roar, its top half exploded into a shower of insect guts and pale yellow blood. It painted everyone in the courtyard with slime, the exception being Grime and Anne who were below the range. The rest of its body fell to the side, nothing to keep itself upright anymore.

"Disgusting." Grime remarked with a spit. It landed next to Anne's hand, melting through the crater floor. The teen couldn't help but flinch.

Anne stared at the giant corpse with bloodshot eyes. She felt her heart rate slow down and the effects of adrenaline disappear. This time, she was, without any doubt, sure the whole ordeal was over. She survived another day, against giant monstrous ants.

Though that did nothing to stop her from vomiting out her insides just after.

* * *

The main room was packed to the brim with every soldier of Toad Tower. Once the battle was truly over, the real celebration began. The room was brightly lit with chandeliers hanging from the high ceilings. On its long dining tables were rows upon rows of delicious amphibian delicacies by the army's skilled team of chefs. Everyone was having a swell time, either by gorging themselves with food or drinking to their hearts' content. At the far end of the room was a podium and on it, Toad Commander Grime and his closest and most trusted officer sat, eating alongside their valiant troops.

Oh, and Anne was there too, sitting right next to him.

Anne stared at the so-called delicacies, all of which were insectoid in nature. Her own plate had a bit of the queen ant's eye in it, courtesy of the chefs. Sure, it was better than the gruel they had served her during her imprisonment but still…

She scooped some of the deceased with a spoon and plunged it into her mouth. She tasted an explosion of flavour for sure, but not the kind she preferred. Her body instinctively shuddered in repulse. "Gguuugh…!"

Thankfully before she could take another spoonful, Grime stood from his chair and with a spoon, tapped his metal tankard. "Attention, every toad… I SAID 'ATTENTION'!"

The soldiers instantaneously turned towards him in sync. Grime blinked at the sudden change of atmosphere. "Okay… Uh-hum, as you all had just experienced, Toad Tower was under attack by a colony of buillotine ants. We have sustained heavy damages and have lost many of our fellow compatriots. Nonetheless, the battle ended with our VICTORY!"

The whole room cheered and applauded. "Tomorrow, we will begin repairs of our citadel, along with some extra modifications so that we won't be taken off-guard next time. But tonight, we shall dine like it is the end of the world because _we just survived through one!_"

"Before you continue, I wish to introduce Anne, whose assistance had been integral to our success. From now on, she is part of Toad Tower!"

The room exploded with applause, just as loud as before. Among the soldiers below, Staple clapped his stubby hands zealously, calling out her name. Wright sat at the other side of the table, clapping as well albeit slower but no less happy.

"WOOOOOOO! GO, ANNE!" Staple cried, though his voice was drowned by the numerous others around him. He then leaned towards Wright and whispered, "She has a weird name."

"Heh, true."

"So now, you toads. EAT! EAT AND CELEBRATE!" Grime exclaimed, ending his speech. Everyone resumed their festivities, merrier than ever. The scarred toad, however, took himself a breather.

Hearing all those toads cheer out her name, Anne couldn't help but blush. It reminded her of her time back home, where she would get involved in numerous sports and extracurricular activities. Not to brag or anything but Anne was quite proud of her physical abilities. Though, her schoolmates tend to disagree.

Despite all that skill, she didn't really have much to show for it. Some clubs even banned her from joining because she 'wasn't a team player' or something like that. Well, she didn't care. Sasha and Marcy acknowledged her and that was all that mattered. So what if she didn't do well with others?

Anne pushed her plate forward, not really have the appetite. She honestly preferred the gruel now. At least then she couldn't see what it was made of. "So, you're gonna help me search for my friends?"

"After the repairs are done, I'll provide a reasonable taskforce for the hunt. But don't expect too much; the valley is not a small place. It could take weeks, even months. And my toads are stretched thin as it is, especially after today's debacle."

"No, no, take your time! I mean, I know what it's like to be low on manpower." Anne replied, reminiscing at her time when she worked at her parents' restaurant. There were days where someone couldn't come to work and that meant Anne had to pick up the slack. Of course, her BFFs were there to provide moral support.

"You know, you're surprising chill about this. I mean, you did call me a beast for two weeks straight."

Grime drank from his tankard and placed it gently on the table. He then wiped away and leftover wine with his hand. "Do not assume my respectful behaviour with 'friendship'. You are still a beast in my eyes. I simply allow you to live because you have been an asset. Nothing more."

"Heh, I didn't say anything about 'friendship'." Anne grinned with a pompous smile. She could hear the toad commander growl, even with his mouth full of food.

At the very least, Anne managed to secure herself a safe haven. And in another universe like this, that was more than enough. A part of her still longed for her friends but for now, she'd celebrate her first victory here.

A team effort at that.


	10. Pipes and Privacy

**I was not dead btw. I worked on 3 Glitch Tech fanfics and 1 She-Ra fanfic. That's 4 documents during my dead period. If you're curious, you can check them out. Now I have 3 active projects from 3 different fandoms :/**

**Also, enjoy! Hope you like it.**

* * *

Do you remember the last time you slept like a baby? You know, being all innocent and uncaring about what the world will offer tomorrow?

Of course not. You're not a baby. If you were, you wouldn't be here as you haven't learned how to comprehend the complexities of daily life. Even full-grown adults struggle in handling such hardships. This was also the reason many of them go on vacations, as to wind down and relax. They'd never be able to sleep like a baby again but darn, they'd definitely get close.

Sasha, the blonde middle-schooler human girl from another world, wouldn't call her situation a vacation. Not by any means. But she'd admit, the free time available did have its perks. For example, being able to sleep without caring about homework. That might sound dramatic but this was middle-school; homework was life-or-death.

Tranquil, her eyes fluttered open, peaceful and calm. She could hear the morning chirps and songs of nearby birds, providing a sense of serenity. For some odd reason, her room was cooler than usual. She didn't mind; in fact, she welcomed it. It wasn't too cold and combined with the humidity, the whole place felt comforting.

"Good morning, sunshine." she mumbled half-asleep, her tone quiet but pleased. She just had a pleasant dream; she was at her uncle's ranch and they did all sorts of activities like hiking, fishing and even a bit of horse-riding. All in all, she felt fully refreshed and ready for the day. A rare sentiment in of itself. Lifting her upper body, Sasha stretched her arms up high, relieving her tensed muscles. A small ray of sunlight glimmered into the basement, adding to the morning setting.

"Looks like it's going to be a beautiful day!" chuckled Sasha optimistically.

To her misfortune, she had broken a sacred rule of Amphibia; one must not tempt the frog gods.

Her vision cleared, the teen realized that the ceiling was a lot closer than it was yesterday. That was very odd. Also, she didn't notice it earlier but there was a certain and slightly foul stench too. Looking around, she finally discovered the problem.

The basement was flooded. _Her room _was flooded.

"… AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

* * *

What a wonderful way to start the day.

After her scream that woke up the whole Plantar family and their neighbours, should they have any, Sasha was evacuated to the dry and comfy living room. Only her shoes were wet, having to paddle and walk through the mossy waters to escape. She had also saved her friend Anne's backpack, albeit most of its contents have turned soggy.

Hop Pop walked out of the cellar, his whole body soaking wet. He wasn't bothered by it at all, despite wearing absorbent clothes. Was it because he's a frog?

"Well, I found the problem; one of the water pipes burst open. Darn burrow bugs must've chewed them apart." Hop Pop explained, still dripping wet. "I got an idea where the leak is but it'll take a while to find and fix it. That means you're going to have to find a place to bunk down for a while."

Well, that was too bad. It might not have been the comfiest place but she did like her mattress. "I guess I could just sleep on the couch. It's not that bad."

Suddenly, Sprig jumped in with a proposal. "Wait, wait! I got an idea!" He said, waving his arms up. "Why not have Sasha sleep in my room? We're like, super best friends! BFFs!"

Sasha raised an eyebrow. Sharing a room with Sprig? Well, she wasn't against the idea. She remembered the several times her, Marcy and Anne all had stayed at the latter's house for a night. They'd do all sorts of activities, like gossiping, getting their hair done and of course, watching some late-night television. Though, Anne rarely was able to stay awake.

Hop Pop scratched his chin. "I don't know, Sprig. It's one thing being friends, it's another being roommates. Everything starts off all peachy and the like but then you get into their space and they get into yours, and you can't stand how they keep on whistling all the time and of course, they complain whenever you got to clean your webbed crusties out."

"YES I HAVE TO DO IT IN OUR ROOM! IT HAS THE BEST LIGHTING!" Hop Pop yelled furiously, only to cough. "The point being, roommates are a big deal."

Sasha rolled her eyes at his outburst. "Pfft, you're so dramatic, Hop Pop. I've been to sleepovers before. I know what I'm doing."

"Yeah, Hop Pop! Plus, we're BFFs!"

"You already said that, Sprig—"

"Sprasha against the world! Or maybe Sashrig." He scratched his chin thoughtfully. "It's a work in progress."

Hop Pop sighed, shaking his head. "Mark my words, it will all end in disaster!" he warned, then walked backwards into the cellar, closing the door slowly. "Mark my words..."

Watching the old frog disappear from view, Sasha clicked her tongue and turned to Sprig, the backpack slung behind her shoulder. "So, lead the way."

* * *

One thing that Sasha took note of was that the house had a second floor. She knew there were stairs leading up but she never did use them. After all, her room was in the basement; the opposite of that. And while her curiosity did spurn her to check, she never got the time. She was, after all, either helping the Plantars with the farm or entertaining them. Rarely was she ever alone since she got here.

Also because it's just another floor. She didn't expect to find much.

"Welcome to my personal space!" announced Sprig, showing around his room.

It was as she expected a little boy's room to look like; just greener. Instead of a normal bed, there was a patchwork hammock. There was also a shelf that looked like it was carved out from a huge log and several floating ones. The centrepiece, however, has to be the large table at the end, by the window.

"You can put your stuff right over there!" he said, pointing at the spare mattress nearby. "After all, _mi casa e su casa_."

Sasha smirked. "Woah, Sprig. Where did you learn how to speak Spanish?"

"I was speaking what now?"

Sasha placed her bag and walked around, absorbing the view. She had to admit, the place looked really nice. She especially liked all the foliage, even though she was sure that came with the house. She turned to the window and pushed it open, letting the warm breeze flow in. "Nice digs you got here."

"That's not even the best part! Come on, I wanna show you something!" Sprig said, pulling her to his hammock.

There, Sprig waved his hand in front of a shelf above his sleeping place. On it, three makeshift-looking figures stood straight. Emphasize on the 'makeshift'; it was literally a bunch of twigs and sticks tied up together to make what looked like a person. This world had processed foods and no one decided to invent commercial toys?

"Behold! The crown jewel of the room!" Sprig cheered.

"Oh neat, some dolls."

The boy frog laughed sarcastically. "Ahahaha! ... No. These aren't dolls. They're action figures, based on the battle of— Where'd you go?"

Sprig looked around, realizing that Sasha was no longer nearby. She was at a different part of the room, looking at his houseplant; a giant flytrap the size of his body. Sasha poked the plant on its huge cheeks, giggling. "Hehehe, you're so chubby."

"Oh, I see you met Steve." Sprig exclaimed, walking up next to her. "Yeah, he's a big boy with really big chompers!"

"I noticed. Say, where'd you even get this?" Sasha asked, poking the plant again. It wiggled slightly, amusing her.

"I don't know."

"... What do you mean you don't know?"

Sprig shrugged. "I don't know. Steve just kind of appeared one day so I put a pot of dirt around him. He's usually very quiet."

"So it seems..." Sasha replied with a nod. Unbeknownst to her, the plant growled deeply. "That's neat. Creepy but neat."

"I got other stuff too! There's my chest of treasured junk where I keep all my treasured junk, my miniature catapult and of course, how could I forget, the arrow in the wall!" explained Sprig, showcasing each one of them. "There's a bunch of things here and I'm sure you'll love!"

Sasha was always the snooping type. If there was a mystery, she wanted to be the first to know about it. Or at the very least, beat the other person to it. When she visited her friends' houses, this was the same case as well. She wasn't very sneaky herself but she did know how to disappear when she needed to. There was a time and place to be either the centre of attention or to not be caught.

Still, never did anyone happily show her around. Usually, they just lead her somewhere and that was it. So having a grand tour of his private space was a new feeling.

Sasha smiled. "Yeah, why not? What else you got here?"

"This jar of candied bees." Out of nowhere, Sprig pulled out exactly that; a jar of candied bees. He opened the jar and with his tongue, snatched one into his mouth. "Want one?"

"... No."

* * *

There were many reasons why frogs rarely travel when the sun came down, many of which were exactly the same as human beings. However, one key factor was the lower temperature. Being cold-blooded as they were, they have yet to figure out the biological differences between amphibians and mammals. Being able to regulate your internal temperature can do wonders to a person's very survival.

One could spend hours explaining the science behind it but to cut it short; frogs hate the cold.

"So... hot..." Sasha groaned in her pyjamas. Despite being underdressed, it was still too warm for her liking and she was sweating as if it was a sauna.

Lifting herself up with groggy eyes, she dragged her feet towards the windows and pushed it open. The cold breeze, a contrast to the warm and pleasant one in the daytime, washed her face, cooling her down.

"Aah... Much better." said Sasha, walking back to her 'bed'. In a few minutes, the room turned chilly, as if someone turned the thermostat down during a summer's day.

Immediately after, nature took its course. "Brr... So cold..." Sprig muttered, closing the previously-opened window. And so, the room naturally turned warm once more.

But Sasha was no quitter. Far too tired to deal with anything else, she simply stood back up and opened the window again without a word. In another few minutes, Sprig repeated his actions; closing the window for warmth.

There was no way to know how many times this continued. However, a good indicator of whether it's too much or too little were the windows themselves. Or more precisely, its hinges.

Sasha pushed the windows open, a bit too strongly. She was getting annoyed that the window kept closing but was not aware of the cause. She just added more force like some barbarian, intent of keeping it open. This, unfortunately, proved to be the windows' demise.

_Snap! _

"Huh, wha?" Sasha croaked, opening her eyes slightly wider. Out of nowhere, her arm felt heavy and looking at it closer, she discovered that the windows had literally fallen off its hinges. "Oh... Eh, whatever." she shrugged, going back to sleep.

Reaching out, Sprig attempted to close the window again. Instead, his hands grabbed nothing and found the windows broken and on his table. He turned to the sleeping Sasha, exhausted and freezing.

Frustrated, he grumbled.

The next day, Sasha was nonchalantly eating a bowl of cereal. Thankfully, this was normal cereal and not made from bugs squished into cornflake pieces. The milk, on the other hand, was a completely different story, one she was not willing to think about.

"Woah, dude. You okay?" Sasha asked, grabbing a spoonful into her mouth.

Sprig blinked. Left eyelid, then right. "Yep, totally okay. Just… didn't get much sleep last night."

"Oh, I totally get you! The wind kept closing the windows every time I opened them!" said Sasha, throwing her spoon around. "Do you know how hot it was when they're closed? Like, extremely."

"Which reminds me; you need to get your windows fixed."

Sprig stared at the teenage human, casually eating cereal like it was no one's business. His eyes squinted, albeit with dark bags under his eyes.

* * *

Much like every night before bed, Sprig did his nightly rituals as per norm. There were a few minor difference, mostly due to the broken windows he hadn't asked Hop Pop to fix yet. Since the nights were too cold for him, causing him to literally freeze up like a popsicle, Sprig decided to wrap himself up with layers upon layers of blankets, all snug and warm.

He was, in all essence except food, akin to that of a frog burrito. Now all he needed was a good night's rest…

"And then, this girl Maggie comes by and steals Anne's sticky rice wrap! I mean, she could've asked and Anne would definitely give her some; she's nice like that. But still, rude! So, I walked up to them and stopped the fight. You know, like the friend I am." Sasha told, her tale more or less accurate.

Suddenly, Sasha heard a snore. Well, actually a ribbit. Apparently frogs in this universe didn't snore like humans. Then again, she wasn't sure if frogs in her own universe snored at all. They were all so slimy and gross, the Plantars included but she tolerated them.

Nonetheless, her story was not done. "Sprig? Spriiiig? Hellooo?" Sasha called out, snapping her fingers at his direction. Yet with extra blankets, he continued to sleep snugly on his hammock with a snore. Er, ribbit. In the end, she decided to be a bit more provocative.

_Poosh!_ "Huh, what?! Are the mosquitoes back?! We already gave our offering last month!" Sprig yelled, startled and awake. It took him a second to realize he was still in his room, safe and sound from any giant frog-eating insects that wanted to suck out his blood. The only difference being the extra pillow on his tightly-wrapped body. "W-what's going on?"

Sasha glared with a frown. "Dude, you fell asleep during my story!"

"Sorry, Sasha. I just—" He yawned. "I didn't get enough sleep..."

"Well, try to stay awake!" she argued, rolling her eyes as if it was obvious. "I still have tons of stuff to tell. Plus, it'd be weird to say them out loud when no one is listening."

"Y-yeah, yeah, sure. I'll— Haah! … I'll try my best…"

Satisfied with the response, she huffed. "So anyway, I invited Maggie to my party but really it was just a formality. And uh," Suspicious, she turned to Sprig. "Wait, how much did you actually hear?"

Sprig blinked with tired eyes. "I, uh… I-I don't know. I didn't keep track."

Sasha threw her hands in frustration. "Ugh, Sprig! You didn't listen to any of it!" With crossed arms, she pouted. "Fine, I'll just retell everything."

Alert! Alert! Crisis detected! Little frog boy brain too worn out to comprehend! Initiating crisis aversion response!

"Y-you don't have to! You can just tell it to me tomorrow. You know, when the sun is up and life is full of activity!" Sprig implored, extremely desperate.

Crisis aversion response was successfully launched.

"No, we're doing this tonight while the mind is fresh. If I tell it to you tomorrow, it wouldn't be the same! Heck, I might actually forget to tell you at all!" She then pointed at Sprig, scowling. "So you better be listening or we'll be doing this a third time."

Crisis aversion response failed.

Sprig grabbed the thrown pillow and snuffed it into his face.

* * *

The past few nights, Sprig sensed a pattern. A pattern that went under the name 'Sasha'. To be fair, it wasn't as if he hated his currently-only-best friend. Despite the difficulties, he wasn't that peeved by her behaviour and of course, cared about her. It just took some time to get used to sleeping in the same room with her.

He just didn't expect it to take this long.

"So…" Hop Pop began, pouring himself a cup of Joe. Sasha wasn't sure if the black liquid was even coffee to begin with but it's best to not ask. She already knew where the milk in Wartwood came from, she didn't need to know what counted as 'coffee' here. "How are you two kids holding up? Feeling a bit murder-y? Not to worry, I won't judge."

Sasha took a gulp of her tea. At least she knew these came from leaves. "Actually, we've been having a blast! Me and Sprig? We just work, even at the toughest of times. Isn't that right, Sprig?"

Sprig, whose head was currently planted onto the table, weakly lifted his hand for a thumbs-up.

Hop Pop sipped a bit of his coffee. "Really? Well, I'll be darned; I thought you two would break in a couple of days. I'm genuinely surprised."

"Yeah, you should because we're Sprasha, or Sashrig! Whichever works best!"

"Well, it's good to see you two doing well with one another." Hop Pop commended with a smile. "Oh, which reminds me! Sasha, I haven't found that leak of yours yet so you might have to stay with Sprig for a bit longer. At least, until I find the darn leak and patch it up."

Sasha waved her hand nonchalantly. "Oh, it's cool! Take your time, we can handle it."

Sprig grumbled, contesting, though no one heard him.

Quickly finishing her tea, Sasha stretched her arms and stood up. "Aaa, that feels so much better. I'm heading out for some Vitamin D. Come on, Sprig."

Sasha grabbed the young frog boy and slung him underneath her arms like a handbag and ran off, leaving Hopadiah Plantar and Polly Plantar alone in the kitchen. The two stared at the door as they left, more so on their male family member.

Polly sipped some tea, smugly. "Mmm, they didn't kill each other like you guessed."

"Well, I'm willing to admit when I'm wrong." Hop Pop replied with a deadpan snark. "But I wasn't completely wrong. Sasha might be able to handle it but Sprig..."

"He's gonna kill her."

"Nonsense!" He scolded. "Sprig's too nice! Probably jump into the waters to find the leak himself. Either that or sleep in the couch."

Once more, Polly sipped some tea. "Yep."

...

...

...

"You're getting old, Hop Pop."

"That's not why I haven't found the leak!"

* * *

Remember when Sprig sensed a pattern during his sleeping hours? Back then it was just a guess; an assumption or hypothesis without further proof. It had been only two nights after all, so who couldn't say it was just an outlier?

Well, after several additional nights, he was definitely sure.

On day four of being roomies, Sasha had gone through his box of treasured junk without his permission. He spent hours organising its contents due to it being too perfectly full. He should've gotten a bigger box but where else was he supposed to get one as stylish as this?

On day six, he learned that Sasha is a light sleeper and unfortunately for her, Sprig was prone to ribbitting. Any ordinary frog would've just tried their best to sleep but Sasha was a human, not a frog. So, of course, she did the non-amphibian thing and threw a pillow to the sleeping Sprig, causing him to fall out of his hammock while she continued to sleep soundly.

His eye still hurts when he opened them.

Speaking of pillows...

"Yo, dude! Catch!"

"Wha?"

Sprig, who was minding his one business and neatly folding his clothes, got a debatably fluffy pillow hit him in the face. One would have thought that a pillow wouldn't do much but Sprig was literally roughly the size of one at less than half his weight. Also, the fact that pillows were not soft at all in this household.

Knocked on the head, Sprig was left disoriented and lost his balance. He backpedalled out of control and with a yelp, crashed into his potted plant.

"Ugh..." Sprig groaned, rubbing his head.

From the other side of the room, Sasha gasped. "Oops, sorry dude! You okay?"

"Uh... No problem. Just..." Sprig continued rubbing his head, blinking slowly. "Headache..." Suddenly, he felt a sticky fluid drizzle on top of him and he realized, this was not his usual mucus either.

The plant, whom Sprig adopted and named Steve only to crash into just before, did not appreciate being touched and shoving was a form of physical contact. Thus, it did the one thing its instincts told; consume the life out of the young frog.

_CHOMP_

"... Holy guacamole."

Sasha watched as the dormant flora took a big bite and grabbed the entire top half of her roommate, leaving her shocked. The carnivorous plant gurgled and pulsated, struggling to swallow its prey like a python, possibly from the fact it didn't have a throat to begin with.

"MMMMMMGGGHHHH!" Sprig screamed as he was being digested, muffled only by Steve's cheeks.

Sasha, broken out of her shock, immediately ran towards him. She grabbed his exposed legs and began pulling. "Ah! Don't worry, Sprig! I got'chu, fam!"

Easier said than done really. Steve has a surprisingly tight grip, er, jaw, despite not having any bones. It was unrelenting and even with her average teenager girl strength, the plant still held its ground.

"Khh, come on! Let go, you— Gah, stupid plant!"

After what seemed to be an intense tug-of-war between girl and toothy flower, Sasha finally got the upper hand as the plant gradually lost its bite. Sprig's upper half was getting freed bit by bit and with a final tug, he was released from his would-be demise.

However, the pull was too strong and Sasha, surprised by the sudden tension loss, threw the boy over her shoulder while she herself fell onto her back. Sprig, who was covered head to lower torso with plant saliva, flew across the room, screaming for dear life.

"AAAAAAAHHHHHH— OOF!" He shrieked, followed by the sudden stop of the bedroom wall. He landed on the vertical surface with a splat and slowly slid down, leaving a green trail behind. Losing stickiness, the goo snapped him off and into a sudden drop, crashing into his shelf of figurines.

"Sprig!" Sasha called out with worry, running after him. From behind the hammock, Sprig groaned in pain and yet, felt grateful for it. It was proof he wasn't plant-food. Yet.

Standing upright, he heard a crunch and felt something break underneath him. His heart stopped, realising his worst fears had come to fruition.

"Sprig?" Sasha asked, confused by his sudden quietness. In the boy's hands were his treasured and most valuable possessions; his action figures, now in twenty different pieces. Sprig was a big frog and he promised he wouldn't cry.

"Uh—"

_"WilL yOu ExCuSe mE fOr a SeCoNd?!" _Sprig bawled, running out of the room, leaving Sasha alone in the wake of night.

* * *

After an hour, Sasha was starting to get worried. She lived with the Plantars for almost two months and she had never seen Sprig that way before. He looked devastated and in a way she didn't think was possible, at least not until just then.

Sasha turned to the broken pieces lying around the hammock. Those figurines honestly looked pretty trashy to her but they meant a lot to him. She didn't understand the history behind them but they must've been special if he kept them on display.

She felt a sting in her chest. "... I should go apologize."

Walking down the stairs, she flipped the lights on. The mushrooms on the walls glowed a warm yellow hue, illuminating the living room.

"Sprig, are you here? Hello?" she called out, yet received no reply. The front door was closed so he definitely didn't leave the house. However, the cellar door was suspiciously wide open.

Being the only lead, Sasha walked into the dark and creepy cellar. She never noticed how unnerving the place was at night, especially with the splashing noise she was hearing.

_Splash splash splash_

Wait, splashing noise?

"Sprig, is that you?" she asked into the darkness, turning the cellar lights on. Once bright, she saw her roommate splashing around the surface of the deep water in frantic.

"Come on, where is it...?" he muttered to himself. Hearing Sasha's voice and the room instantaneously turning brighter, Sprig swam around, startled. "Ah, Sasha! What are you doing here?!"

"What am I doing here? What are _you_ doing here?" she asked back.

Sprig, floating in the water, blinked. "Nothing."

The teen pinched her bridge and groaned. "Look, it doesn't matter. I just wanted to say I'm sorry for breaking your toys. I didn't mean it, alright?"

Sprig waved his hand nonchalantly. "Pfft, it's fine. I mean, I did spend weeks trying to make them as accurate as possible and I cried for like, an hour at most, but they're just irreplaceable action figures. Hahaha..."

Sasha though didn't buy it. She wasn't sure what it was but she could tell it wasn't everything. "Sprig, are you hiding something?"

"Me? Hiding something?" he fake gasped. "No way! I'm not hiding anything!"

"Sprig..."

"If anything, you're the one hiding something! You know, after all the snooping you did!"

"_Sprig..._"

"_Mi casa e su casa_, whatever that means. But you're definitely hiding what it means!"

"SPRIG!" she yelled, causing him to clamp his mouth shut. "Just tell me what the problem is. I can deal with it."

His face scrunched up and his body twisted and turned. Whatever it was he wanted to say, it was making him uncomfortable. But he knew he couldn't hold it in for much longer. "Mmm...!" he whimpered.

While he struggled to give Sasha an answer, an ominous shadow loomed below him, large enough that both of them noticed.

"What the—" Before he could finish his sentence, a long and slimy tail slithered around and latched onto him. Suddenly, he was forcefully pulled underwater. "AH!"

"OH GOD, SPRIG!" Sasha shouted, immediately followed by jumping into the murky waters. "I'm coming, buddy!" She exclaimed, taking a deep breath and diving right in, all to save a friend.

It was so dark. Even with the basement lights above, the water was so cloudy and dark that Sasha could barely see. Off to the distance in front of her, she saw Sprig and a weird eel-like creature strangling his entire body. Sasha swam forward but before she could catch up, another of the eel creature appeared and wrapped onto her leg, pulling her away.

Seeing his BFF, Sprig internally screamed and wiggled even harder to break free of his captor. The creature reared its eyes to him and in a moment of reflex, shot his tongue out and boxed the animal into releasing him and swam upwards.

Meanwhile, Sasha, alarmed by the animal pulling her away, attempted to grab anything she could get her hands on. Pots, lanterns, anything really but ended up with a nearby submerged ladder. Not feeling picky, she hugged the ladder's legs tightly, refusing to let go. The creature detected her defiance and with its mouth open wide, screeched and rushed at her.

Sasha was not an experienced fighter but she wasn't a quitter either. Grabbing the tail with one hand, she pulled the unsuspecting creature to her and swung around the ladder, kicking it in its face. Stunned, the creature let go of her leg, allowing the teen to climb up for air.

Simultaneously, Sprig and Sasha appeared above the water's surface, gasping for oxygen. Despite his amphibious nature, Sprig was caught off guard and was unable to breathe properly while Sasha simply did not have the lungs of an Olympic swimmer.

"Huah! What in the world was that?!" Sasha frantically asked, her heartbeat racing to new heights.

"River lampreys!" Sprig answered with a shout. "They must've swum through the pipes!"

One of the river lampreys leapt at Sprig, ready to bite his head off. In response, he ducked into the water, dodging by a hair's breadth. Literally at that; Sprig distressingly discovered that his hat was off. "Wah! I'm naked!"

"They're too fast!" Sasha yelled, shifting to the left as a set of sharp teeth flew at her general direction. "We can't catch up while they're underwater! We need to even out the playing field!"

As if on cue, her old basement mattress appeared, floating by along with a pair of her pillows. Sasha nodded. "Huh, that can work."

Grabbing a pillow, Sasha climbed up onto the mattress. Her muscles tensed and finger clenched, the pillow being her only weapon. Sprig, seeing this, took a pillow as well though stayed in the pool. "Uh, now what?"

"We hit them." She replied, glaring at the lampreys circling them. "Hard."

A switch flipped in the lampreys' heads and suddenly, the two began their assault. Sasha might not have been that active in sports but she did play tennis with Anne. This was just that, except bigger.

With a swing of her pillow, she hit a lamprey in the face, sending it reeling back into the water. Sprig kept an eye out for the second one, only for it to jump out from below him. Taken by surprised, Sasha fell on her back, narrowly avoiding the hit.

"Sasha!" the young boy yelled. Turning around, he swatted an incoming lamprey away, skipping it across the room. Behind him, the other fish leapt at him but Sasha miraculously appeared and slammed her pillow down on it, pushing it deep into the waters.

The lampreys, however, were not very patient and continued to circle the duo, taking swipes and rushes whenever an opportunity arose.

"Argh!" Sasha yelled in pain, her hand having been gashed by their teeth. It just recently healed from her previous injury and now, the arm bled once more. "Son of a—!"

Noticing the blood, Sprig's eyes widened. "Ah, this wasn't what I wanted!"

Despite the tension, Sasha, all while heavily breathing, raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"I'm sorry, Sasha! I lied about why I came down here! I just wanted to fix the leak so you could go back to the cellar!" he admitted, crying his eyes out and fluttering his pillow. "I wasn't comfortable when you were in my room! You broke the windows, touched my stuff and threw pillows at me!"

"I just couldn't handle it anymore and wanted you out!"

Sasha felt her heart pierced as if it was shot by an arrow and not the romantic kind at that; it was painful, quick and direct. "W-why didn't you tell me?" she whispered a question.

"B-because..." he turned around and faced her, his eyes red in tears. "I didn't want to sound mean and hurt you! We're supposed to be BFFs!"

Best friends forever. Sasha often used that term without care but she never realised how much that meant for Sprig. The young boy with zero friends finally founded someone outside of his family circle and while he had some acquaintanceship with the townsfolk, they were just that: Acquaintances. Not friends.

She had always prided herself in her ability to read people and yet, she completely missed all the signs. Was she always this oblivious to her friends' feelings?

His words hurt deeply but she needed to hear it. If Sprig wasn't going to tell her, then who would? Who else would she trust to be honest enough and understanding of her issues? Who else but Sprig?

"Sprig, I'm—" Before she could finish, she was rudely interrupted by a lamprey jumping at her hungrily. Sasha swung her pillow reflexively but missed. "Hey! We're having a moment here!"

A moment that the two slimy fish did not care. In fact, this whole ordeal was taking too long for their liking. Intent on ending it quickly, the two lampreys swirled around each other like a coiled-up spring and blitzed straight at the girl. Sasha's eyes widened in shock but were quickly replaced by determination.

"Sprig!" she barked.

Without any further words, Sprig dove into the water and swam up at high speeds, rocketing himself out of the pool. From underneath, he batted the swirling lampreys' underbellies, breaking their formation. Sasha, on the other hand, jumped off the mattress like a trampoline, eying the two aquatic creatures.

"Say goodnight, you swamp slugs." And with that, she swung as hard as she could and sent the two splat painfully on the wall. The lampreys screeched, plopping into the murky pool before immediately surfacing.

Sasha lifted her pillow defensively. "There's more where that came from, ugly!"

"Yeah!" added Sprig.

Recognizing their loss, the two retreated it the bottom and with the same swirling technique, drilled a hole through the floor, draining the water with them. Immediately, the pool receded until all that was left was a shallow pond and a large hole in need of patching.

Sasha turned to her left and pointed. "Oh hey, there's the busted pipe." The said pipe still leaked out water, albeit slower than before.

Turning around, Sasha saw Sprig on the stairs, sitting dejectedly with the pillow off to the side. Her expression softened and she walked to right beside him, sitting down as well. Her bleeding arm tingled in pain but this was far more important.

"So... That was quite a night, huh?" She asked, breaking the cold silence. "Kinda funny with how many near-death experiences we keep getting ourselves into. Haha..."

Sprig did not laugh. An expected response but it was still awkward for her.

Sasha sighed. "Look Sprig, I'm sorry, okay?" she exclaimed, no jokes or sarcasm in her voice. "I should've been aware of your feelings these past few days. I thought that since you were okay with it early on, you wouldn't mind."

She scratched her head. "But I overstepped my boundaries. I didn't respect your personal space and made a mess of things. You didn't tell me because you were afraid but honestly, you were right about that. It's my fault that you had to deal with all of this."

Sasha placed her hand on his shoulder, prompting him to look up at her. "Next time, I want you to be completely honest with me and in turn, I'll make sure to listen. Okay, BFF?"

"... You promise?"

To answer, she made a crisscrossing motion on her chest. "Cross my heart and hope to fly."

Smiling, Sprig giggled. "Hehe, what does that mean?"

"Dunno." Sasha answered with a shrug, a smile on her face too. "Learned it from someone."

The duo let out a sigh of relief. This whole ordeal had been stressful and high tension, even though the monsters were a lot smaller. But emotions flared during these past few minutes and that tended to have an effect on people. For now, they were given a moment's respite. Just a period of silence to get their hearts and minds in the right place. They deserved it.

It didn't last.

"What in frog gods' names is going on here?!" Hop Pop yelled from the cellar door, holding a candlelight lamp.

Polly, who was on his head, took off her sleeping mask, revealing the horrible disgruntled face underneath. "Some of us are trying to sleep!"

Sasha and Sprig screamed.

* * *

Pouring a cup, Hop Pop handed the warm tea to Sasha who accepted it with a small thanks. Sprig sat beside her on the couch with the entire Plantar family in the living room. Her injured arm was bandaged up once more, much to the old frog's chagrin. Medicine wasn't exactly cheap in these neck of the woods.

"So I'm guessing the whole roommate thing didn't work out, huh?" He asked, earning a pair of nods from both of them. "Well, can't say I didn't warn ya. Everyone needs their personal space after all."

"Yeah, we learned that we were a lot more different than we thought which led to a whole bunch of problems." Sasha admitted. "But hey, we solved the cellar problem and found the leak! So that's a win."

"U-huh..." the old frog nodded. "I'm just glad you two didn't try to kill each other. It'd take weeks to get ourselves a proper hole for a funeral. Why, you'd be rotten by then."

Sprig swirled the tea in his hands and took a sip. He still felt at unease but at least the drink was decent. "Hey, Hop Pop? Do you think me and Sasha are friends?"

"Of course you are." Replied Hop Pop without hesitation. "Just because you can't be roommates, doesn't mean you're not friends. There's more to it than just being able to share a place to sleep. I'd even say you're both better friends than ever!"

Sprig's eyes sparkled. "Really?!"

With a smile, he nodded. "Without question. Ain't that right, Sasha?"

"Oh wow, this tea is really good." Sasha muttered, taking more sips. "Oh and yeah, friendship and stuff."

Her indifferent response had Hop Pop frown but to Sprig, he didn't mind. Sasha said yes and that was all the confirmation he needed. She wasn't a liar, as much as she acted like one. One can easily tell when she's being truthful. Taking another sip, his chest felt a pleasant warmth.

"Now, the couch is still vacant. Is that okay with you, Sasha?" Hop Pop asked, placing the teapot down. Sasha shrugged; her way to show affirmation.

After another cup or so, Sasha and Sprig moved her stuff down to the living room where she'd be staying for the next few days. The couch wasn't bad and at least she can leave the windows open. Sprig, on the other hand, finally got a good night's sleep.


	11. Croaking Curses

Hey kids, do you like magic?

No?

Well, too bad. Magic doesn't care about your feelings and will continue to exist whether you like it or not.

Now, Sasha did not believe in magic. A weird and creepy old guy in a black and white tux, a bunch of mumbo-jumbo, a puff of colourful smoke and walla — a dead rabbit. This was exactly what happened during her 7th birthday party, an event that scarred her for life. And while Hop Pop did tell her magic existed, she had every reason to distrust it, fair or not.

Sprig, on the other hand, was okay with it. He wasn't particularly interested but he did not dislike it. Sprig preferred to design his own little contraptions, having a knack for building and inventing things. Also, his own definition of magic was somewhat inaccurate. For example, he found the deliciousness of Felicia Sundew's scones to be 'magical'.

Nonetheless, these two children were about to experience first-hand the wonders of magic and all it cost them was their weekend.

* * *

Another day, another visit to town. It was weird how often they visited Wartwood nowadays but the additional stomach worth two stomachs named Sasha was probably the reason. Had they not sold those high-quality tomatoes and priceless jewellery, the Plantars would've run out of food weeks ago.

Just like usual, Sprig walked through town with a happy smile on his face. He greeted every single townsfolk he met, all while on his way to finish his chores — grocery shopping. Here in Wartwood, there are three places to buy groceries: the weekly farmers' market, the large convenience store in the middle of town and of course, just buying them straight from the supplier.

The Plantars, being farmers for many generations, had contacts with various suppliers all across town. This allowed them to get their fresh handpicked foodstuff directly from the source without any of the hassles of waiting in line. In turn, they'd get the Plantars best vegetables under the table. This just happened to be one of the days.

Already, Sprig had collected most of the stuff on the list. Since they've been visiting town so frequently, there wasn't much to grab. Thus, they all fitted nicely in the little wagon Sprig was dragging around.

Sprig pulled out his list, checking for what's left. "Let's see here… Milk, check! Oats, check! Fertilizer, eh, check! Last but not least…" Sprig turned upwards, looking at the bakery in front of him. "Bread! Not yet checked."

Leaving the wagon outside, he pushed the door opened and walked up to the counter. "Mr Flour, I'm here for the bread!"

"_Hiiii, Sprriigg…_"

His eyes shot open the very moment he heard that voice. That oh so grouchy and threatening voice. "M-M-MADDIE?! W-what are you d-doing here?!" He shrieked in surprise.

With a creepy straight face, Maddie raised an eyebrow questioningly. "I live here." She replied as if it's the most obvious answer. "But enough about me, _what are yooou doing here, hubby?_"

Sprig chuckled nervously, sweat dripping down his mucus-laden face. "Ha haha ha, I-I'm just here to get some bread, t-that's all. You Flours have the best way with baking, after all!"

"_Prrrrr,_ you sure have with words. I'm currently working on something special. _I'll make sure you get it tomorrow._" Maddie purred.

Meanwhile, Sprig stared into the abyss and watched as his imminent demise played out in front of him in real-time. Allowing his body to run on autopilot, he didn't realize that Maddie was still talking to him. She seemed to have said something and just now noticed he wasn't particularly listening.

Oh, she was still saying something and now was frowning a bit. This looked bad. Sprig wasn't sure what to respond with — seeing that he couldn't even process what Maddie said — but he darn well knew he had to reply with something!

"Sprig, are you listening?" Maddie asked with a frown. Ignoring people was very rude in Wartwood.

Sprig nodded, his eyes still wide and frozen in fear. "U-huh."

"Oh, good." Maddie said, her mood turning for the better. "Anyway, Daddy gave me this engagement ring to make the whole thing official. I'm sure you'd like it, _hubby._"

"Yep."

"Really?" Maddie asked with surprise. "I was expecting some more resistance but okay!" She then slid a large ornate ring around his finger.

His pupils constricted. "AAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

Once the cold metal finished wrapping around, Sprig broke out of his stupor and screamed, dumbfounding the little girl frog. He then grabbed a nearby basket of assorted bread and ran out, dragging his little wagon with him.

Maddie stared from the inside of the bakery as her future husband shrieked in fear. Outside of Sprig, she didn't really know much about the Plantars but still wanted to befriend him.

"Eh." For now, she nonchalantly shrugged and assumed that screaming in fear was a Plantar family thing.

* * *

Meanwhile back at Bessie the giant-to-Earth-but-apparently-average-size-to-Amphibia snail, Sasha lazily sat at the back, her feet lying on top of the seat in front of her. In her hand was a magazine, something to pass the time while she waited for Sprig and Hopadiah 'Hop Pop' Plantar to return. Beside her in a bucket was Polly, her sole companion.

Polly stared at the human, curious of her paperback. "So…" She began. "That there's one of your dirt magazines?"

"'Earth'. You mean 'Earth'."

"That's what I said."

Sasha flipped a page, her eyes still directed on the book. "Also, no. It's a magazine from the convenience store. You know, it's still weird that this place uses English but hey, I'm not complaining."

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH—!" Suddenly, Sprig appeared from around the corner, screaming for dear life. His wagon bounced up and down behind him due to the uneven dirt roads. He then threw all of the stuff one by one onto Bessie's back, followed by the wagon, and hopped onto the seats, still screaming.

Unable to muffle the noise herself, she grabbed Sprig's mouth with her two hands and forcefully closed them. "Okay, stopping that now." Immediately after letting go, she noticed a peculiar glint from Sprig's hand. "Hey, why do have bling?"

On Sprig's finger was the ornate ring Maddie gave him. For her, it was a betrothed ring as a mark of their future romanceable relationship. For anyone else, however, it looked as if demons cursed a child into gold and someone later smelted the gold into a ring for undead wizards. A bit too specific but Sasha never said that Marcy was a good influence.

Sprig turned to his ring and upon inspection, he breathed in to scream, only for Sasha to clamp his mouth shut again. "Dude, stop."

"Sorry." He stared at the ring with a worried look. "Maddie must've given it to me when I blanked out! Now there's proof that we're dating!"

"Ooh..." Sasha exclaimed. She then licked her thumb and laxly switched page. "Congrats, you got married before I got a boyfriend."

It wasn't for the lack of trying though. Every teenager was fated to go through the lovey-dovey dating phase of their childhood where emotions were complicated and parents ran away in fear of explaining why their hearts are all _'doki-doki'_. The difference, however, was that Sasha's friend went by the self-proclaimed 'Breakup Queen'. That itself was self-explanatory.

Sprig glared at his human BFF. "No, that's not a good thing! I don't want to marry Maddie! We just met and she creeps me out!"

"I don't know. She seems pretty nice, eh, probably." Sasha said, shrugging. "What's the worst that could happen? Besides, if you don't want to be engaged with her, just break it off."

"BREAK UP WITH HER?! TO HER FACE?!" Sprig yelled, climbing up to Sasha's face and kicking off her magazine. "ARE YOU TRYING TO KILL ME?!"

"Ggh, Get! Off!" Sasha grunted, pushing Sprig off. "Seriously, learn some space. Also, it's a breakup. People break up, like, all the time. At least once a week."

Sprig gasped. Were breakups that often on Dirt? Their love-lives must have been horrendous. However, that gave the little frog boy a wonderful idea. "Hey, how about you do the break up for me? That way, I won't die a horrible death!"

Sasha thought about it. On one hand, she didn't know whether frogs had ordinary breakups or maybe some crazy challenges she'd have to risk her life for. Considering all the adventures she went through already, this wasn't far off. On the other hand, Sprig would owe her a favour. Hmm, choices and choices…

Sasha shrugged. "Eh, why not? I'll just head by the bakery right now."

Sprig jumped in joy and cheered. "Woohoo! Sashrig against the world! Up top, Sasha!"

She lifted her hand up for a high-five but instead, got a tongue slapping its slimy saliva over her palm. Sasha trembled in disgust at her goo-covered hand. "I really should've seen that coming."

Climbing off of Bessie, Sasha scratched the snail on her neck, causing her to purr. However, when turning around, she didn't pay attention and accidentally crashed into a jolly-looking fellow of a frog, wearing purple and a top hat. A pot of twinkling and bluish berries spilt into the muddy road below, causing the frog to gasp in shock.

"Oh, dear!" The frog said, startled.

Shocked herself, Sasha stepped back, not wanting to step on any of the merchandise. "Sorry! Didn't see you there!" She then stared at the dirtied berries, captivated by its colours. "Woah…"

"Schucks, kid! Don't worry about it! Nothing gets ol' Barry down!" He said, before pulling a lollipop from his sleeve and giving it to her. "Have a _berry_ good day!"

Sasha watched as the weird yet jovial frog walked away with an empty pot. "Uh dude, you forgot your berries!" she shouted after him but by then, he was long gone.

From on top of Bessie, Sprig stared in awe. "Hah! Classic Barry. He sells berries and candies in the weekly market. He's like, the nicest frog in town."

"'Nicest', huh?" Sasha repeated in doubt. Her gaze squinched. "Yeah, not buying it." Looking down, however, she saw the unnaturally beautiful berries, left to rot in the mud.

"Still..." Without another word, Sasha grabbed a few and put them in her pocket. No use leaving them to waste. She then grabbed Sprig from the seat and pulled him off. "And you're coming with me!"

"WHAT?! NOOOOOOO—!"

* * *

Did Sasha ever tell anyone that frogs eating bread happened to be one of the weirder things she'd seen? Sure, she knew about it from way before and for the past few weeks have been one crazy adventure to another, but that never stopped it from being weird to her.

But hey, the bread in Wartwood just so happened to taste almost like the bread back home, just not as fluffy and white. Thankfully, no locust bits sprinkled in. She'd rather eat raisin cookies than that.

While Sprig peeked from the side of the door, Sasha walked into the bakery, waving her hand. "Hey there, Maddie."

Maddie, who was chopping some pieces of bread with a butcher's knife, emotionlessly waved back. "Oh, hello, Plantar Monster."

"It's Sasha. We've met."

Maddie shrugged and continued chopping some bread. She started giggling maniacally as the chops intensified, causing Sprig to hide even more. Sasha nudged towards the counter. "So... I heard you and Sprig are engaged. Kinda quick, don't you think?"

"I guess." Maddie replied, throwing the chopped bread into a basket. "Marriages aren't usually for love; it's a political tool used to bind two frogs together as a way to combine their family strengths and guarantee a stable future."

"... I-is that what this is?" Sasha stuttered.

Maddie shrugged. "Probably. There's nothing wrong with that."

Sasha stared at the girl frog as she grabbed another long piece of bread and began chopping. She then turned her head around, looking at the scared Sprig by the door.

Sasha went back to Maddie, a concern look across her face. "Say, Maddie? Do you like Sprig?"

The butcher knife stopped. Ominously, Maddie's whole head twisted around, her neck cracking like a broken mannequin, as the whole room darkened. She stretched her lips upwards to a smile. "_Why do you ask?_"

Sasha, however, was unfazed. "Dunno. A smart and independent girl like you choosing Sprig? I mean, have you _seen_ his dolls? They're outrageous." She could feel the glare from the back of her head as she said that. "You could probably marry any young amphibious bachelor in the Valley."

Hearing that, the atmosphere calmed. Maddie turned to her cutting board and placed her knife on the counter. Without looking, she gave her answer.

"Sprig's weird and I'm weird too. But everyone in Wartwood likes Sprig and not a lot of people like me. It'd be nice to have a friend as weird as me for once."

Sasha stared, shocked by the response. She could always tell that Maddie wasn't as creepy as Sprig thought but it surprised her at how mature the girl was. Sasha never had problems socially back on Earth but here has been just one mistake after another. Even though it's been weeks, they still called her a monster and she didn't even do anything.

Sasha place her palms together in front of her and breathed in sharply. "Nice talking to ya, Maddie. I'll see you around." She hurriedly said, briskly leaving the bakery.

* * *

Once outside, she pulled Sprig by the arm and away from the building, far enough that Maddie wouldn't be able to hear. The boy had watched the whole thing and was shocked at how it went.

"What was that?!" Sprig shrieked, confused and panicked.

"Sprig, my BFF, I'mma be real with you here." Sasha started. "Maybe you should give this whole engagement thing a chance. You might actually like it. Maddie's a really cool girl. Also, she bakes bread! I like bread!"

Unfortunately for her, Sprig was having none of that. "WHAT ARE YOU EVEN TALKING ABOUT?!"

"Look, I am not entirely comfortable with breaking up friendships like this! Maddie said that you're well-liked across town, which is surprising how you don't have friends." Sasha said, quietly muttering that last part. "Maybe you should give it a go for a bit. There's no harm with trying, right."

Sprig looked at her with a desperate plea. "But Sasha! _She scares me..._" He whispered, grabbing her shirt desperately.

Nonetheless, Sasha easily slapped his hands off. "Dude, I scare everyone in town. Heck, I even _scared you_. But we're okay now, so why not here too?"

Sprig looked so wrought in fear but unable to make an excuse. Thinking back, she might have a point. Was it simply how creepy Maddie was to him? In the end, he fell on his froggy knees, defeated. "You're right, Sasha. I guess I could give it a try. At being friends, I mean! I'm still against the engagement!"

Sasha pushed Sprig through the door. "Then go tell her."

While Sprig was in the bakery, Sasha watched through the window. Really though, it was a miracle that Maddie didn't see Sprig by the door earlier. He wasn't even hiding that well. But looking through windows? Sasha had experience with that.

Sprig gulped and walked forward, his arms trembling. Seven words were all it took or three for the shorter but more ambiguous one. He decided to keep it safe and go with seven.

Maddie heard his whimpers and turned with a huge smile on her face. "_Hi, hubby._" She said, her voice raspy and rough. "Back so soon?"

"Y-yeah, well I, uh...!" He leaned slightly to the window, in which Sasha gave him a thumbs up. "M-M-Maddie, we n-need to talk."

"Talk away. Also, you took the wrong basket when you left. Those were for Mrs Croaker."

"Oh, really? Sorry about that." He apologized. "Wait, that's not why I'm here! Maddie, I WANT TO BREAK UP WITH YOU!"

One could hear the strings of dramatic music in the distance. Maddie's eyes widened in disbelief. "What?"

"Look, I'm sure you're probably a nice frog but I don't want to get married yet! What if I found someone else I like?! _What if I get eaten during my great adventures?!_" He explained in a fervour of adrenaline. "_Who will support our children?!_"

Outside, Sasha facepalmed.

"Sprig, calm down. I think it's too early to talk about having kids." Maddie assured. "Also, if you think the engagement is too much, just say so. We can start by being friends."

Panting, the boy frog nodded. "Y-yeah, that sounds nice. Friends?" He asked with his hand out.

"Friends." With a genuine smile, Maddie accepted and the two shook on it. She then pulled him closer, their face touching and the ominous atmosphere returning. "_We should hang out sometime._"

* * *

According to both Sprig and Sasha, that went well. Sprig broke off his engagement and Sasha learned the value of friendship or whatever the lesson was. The point being was that Sprig now had a friend and got to keep the cursed ornate ring, as a token of their newfound friendship.

All's well that ends well, right?

Wrong.

At that same night, in a mysterious warehouse deep in the woods of Frog Valley, a figure was boiling a mystical concoction. The green viscous liquid in the cauldron bubbled and popped and from there, the figure dropped a single item: a strand of blonde hair.

The figure laughed, for no one would be able to hear their insanity.

The very next day, Sprig got up extra early. Seeing that he was no longer trapped by the conventions of society, he was feeling quite positive. Maddie still scared him but a lot less now that he knew she wouldn't kill him. At most, curse him for life and that was something he could deal with.

"Good morning, parental figure!" Sprig cheered, pouring himself a cup of cold worm milk.

Sitting by the dining table, Hop Pop straightened the newspaper with a rustle. "Good morning, problem child. You seem quite chipper today. What's the matter?"

"Oh, I broke up my engagement with Maddie and she was okay with it! We're friends now!" Sprig explained, taking a seat himself.

"Oh, friendship from breakups? How unexpected. Good for you, Sprig."

Just then, the basement door creaked opened and out stepped its sole resident, Sasha. Having recently woken up, she needed some water for her parched throat and headed straight to the kitchen.

"Sup, Sprig. Oh hey, Hop Pop. You're up early." She greeted, scratching her neck. Ugh, it was oddly moist.

"We're farmers, Sasha. We're always up early." He said, still reading the newspaper. "You, on the other hand, are late."

Finally finished with his drink, Sprig opened his mouth to greet the human as well but instead, gasped loudly in complete and utter shock. His glass fell uselessly onto the table, spilling what milk it had left.

"Sprig! Why in Amphibia did you do thaaaaaaa—?!" Hop Pop exclaimed, Lowering his paper before being left aghast much like Sprig.

Sasha, who just got herself a cup of water, faced the two frogs with their gaping mouths. She took a long sip, hydrating her ever-so dry throat. "Mwah! Aww, that's the good stuff. ... Why are you guys staring at me?"

Hop Pop leaned sideways and lightly nudged Sprig with his paper. "Boy, get the mirror."

"On it." He replied, jumping out of his seat and running off. The older frog also got off his seat and walked up to Sasha, his hands clasped together.

"Sasha!" Hop Pop croaked, his smile forced. "You look mighty fine today! And I must say, love the new, uh, everything. Did you put one some new makeup."

"Hop Pop, I don't use makeup. Also, what are you hiding?"

"In a few seconds, you'll find out."

Exactly a few seconds later, Sprig reappeared at the kitchen, carrying a small hand mirror. He jumped and landed right in front of Sasha, handing her the mirror. "Here. Y-you'll need this."

"What are your talking abo...u...t..." Right at the end, her words vanished from her throat. Her hands trembled as she touched her very face, the unexplained moistness now in light.

What she saw was _not_ Sasha the Human.

Instead, it was Sasha the Newt.

"... AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH—!"

* * *

Ever wonder what it'd be like to reincarnate in another world? Like, imagine just being born again with overpowered abilities and a generic but apparently handsome look, then going on adventures and getting a largely female cast as loyal followers.

Sasha was familiar with this story. This was not that story.

"OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD—!" Sasha repeated, freaking out. Her fair human skin and beautiful human face were gone. In its place, gross mucus-ladened purple skin and oddly-shaped head replaced them.

She poked her cheek once more, her fingertips bouncing off the moist surface.

"_I'm a monster._" She lamented.

Hop Pop looked at her, confused. "Actually, Sasha, you were a monster before. Now you're just... acceptable."

Sprig nodded. "Yeah. Like, I was surprised when you looked different but it wasn't because you were scary. You're just so normal now."

"HOW IS THIS NORMAL?!" She yelled, only to remember who she was talking with. She bopped herself in the forehead. "Right, right, amphibians... Just…"

Sasha groaned audibly. "Augh…! Well, it doesn't matter! I can't stay like this!"

"Stay like what?" Just then, Polly hopped in, only to see Sasha's new form. "Woah... You look way better now! Did you finally get rid of your human skin?"

"Is that a thing humans do?" Sprig asked, either at Polly or Sasha.

Sasha crossed her arms. "No. And I can't stay like this because I plan on going home, and I can't go home if I look like a frog!"

Hop Pop raised a finger. "Actually Sasha, you're a newt."

"I DON'T CARE!"

Out of nowhere, an innocent-looking fly buzzed its way into Sasha's field of vision and instantly, her tongue lashed out and grabbed the fly, flinging it back into her mouth. Her eyes widened at the realization.

"_What have I done?_" She whispered in horror.

While Sasha continued grieving over her new form, Hopadiah Plantar walked around and examined her closely. He hummed, his mind racking up ideas. A few moments later, Hop Pop nodded, his suspicions correct.

"Well, I've seen all I need to. You, Sasha, have been _cursed!_" He revealed dramatically.

Sasha gawked at the answer. "Cursed?! That's a thing here?!"

"Sasha, I told you that magic exists. This land of ours is home to many arts. Sculpture, mosaics and of course, magic. Or as I like to call them, _the Dark Arts!_" Hop Pop explained, just as dramatic as before. "Still, magic doesn't just appear out of nowhere. Someone must've cursed you when you were asleep. But who…?"

She remembered Hopadiah saying something about magic but he never said that anyone in Wartwood could use it. She looked back at him, angrily. "You told me no one in Wartwood uses magic! How do you know it's some curse?!"

"I never said I knew everything about everybody, Sasha. All folks have their hobbies." He stated as if it was obvious. "There was one time my roommate turned me into a stool!"

"Really? He turned you into a stool?"

Hop Pop nodded. "I got better."

_Knock knock knock! _Just then, someone knocked on the front door.

"A visitor! I'll get it!" Sprig said, turning around and hopping away. He then opened the door and to his surprise, it was a familiar face: Maddie, with a basket of assorted bread.

"Oh! Uh, hey Maddie! Welcome to the Plantar homestead! Didn't know you were coming! Hehehe..." Sprig exclaimed, coughing into his fist. He still felt awkward around her but at least it was easier now.

"Yeah, you still left the bakery with another frog's bread so I'm here to deliver yours. I added some extras I made myself so I hope you like it."

Sprig took the basket and noticed the extras she mentioned in the shape of Sasha and himself. He cooed. "Aw, thanks, Maddie! Anyway, we kinda have a situation so sorry I can't stay long."

"Situation?" Maddie asked, her voice rough as ever. She then tilted slightly and saw the tall newt inside. "Say, who's the newt? Did she eat the human Sasha?"

"I AM SASHA!" At the back, the aforementioned newt screamed in response.

Maddie clicked her tongue. "Huh. Well, I like the new look." Her eyes suddenly sharpened. "But this reeks of wicked magic."

The newly-turned newt crossed her arms in annoyance. "Yeah, we figured it out."

"But how did you know, Maddie?" Sprig questioned, confused.

Maddie shrugged. "Eh, I'm an amateur magician. I dabble in the mystic arts from time to time. You'll also know that it's not that different from baking."

"Well, can you remove it?!" Sasha asked, a pleading look in her eyes.

Maddie thought about it. It wasn't that long but there was an attempt. "Well, here's the problem. A curse can only be removed by the one who placed it. Since this isn't any of mine, eh… no." She answered bluntly. Sasha could feel her heart being stabbed by the metaphorical knife known as the truth. "Anyway, come here for a second…"

Despite the panicking, Sasha bent down to Maddie, who then proceeded to pull out a few strands of her blonde hair. Snapped out of her impending heart attack, Sasha shrieked. "OWWW! What'd you do that for?!"

With the ex-human's hair, she pulled out a small bag of magical spices, dropped both into a mortar and grounded the two together. Afterwards, she grabbed a handful and threw them onto the floor, covering the small area with dust. Sasha and Sprig both coughed and once the dust cleared, a twinkling cloud trail appeared.

"There! This should lead us directly to the caster. Quickly, before it goes cold!" Maddie explained, running off. Sasha and Sprig both followed suit, leaving Hop Pop and Polly back in their home.

Polly blinked, followed by a sharp gasp. "Agh, darnit! I forgot to tell them to bring me with! They always go on adventures without me!"

"Cheer up, Polly. Someday, you'll have your own life-changing adventure! And it might be soon too, especially with all the mischief they've been getting themselves into." The old frog assured, patting the polliwog on the back.

She could only hope.

* * *

You know, despite the short time Sasha has been as a newt, she wasn't completely against it. Maybe it's because her taste buds having been altered or the fact that everything felt way cooler than she thought. The matter at hand was that it was as if her new body and the surrounding nature finally accepted each other, like some symbiotic relationship.

Also, she ate like eight bugs during her trek with the two younger frogs and they didn't taste horrible! Once the shock subsided, being a newt wasn't half bad.

"Fwap!" Sasha sounded, her tongue whipping out and catching a poor grasshopper. The long-legged insect was about the size of a small cat but with her huge jaws, she was able to chomp it whole.

Sprig looked at her with concern. "You, uh, you've sure been eating a lot."

"I know! And I'm not even sure how!" Sasha giddily replied, having swallowed it within a few bites.

"Probably due to the change of brain biology.", said Maddie from in front. She then called out to the duo. "You two, I think I found the place."

At where she pointed, stood a single rundown warehouse. Its rotting wooden walls and shabby roof gave it an abandoned feeling but if Maddie's spell was correct, it was anything but.

The three amphibians opened its large doors and looked around. The insides were dark, making it impossible to see. As they walked in, the mushrooms on the walls lit up without warning, providing some light in an otherwise pitch-black environment.

Sasha awed. The warehouse was lined with shelves and on them were various pots, jars and baskets of different ingredients. She had no idea what they were but she guessed they were for magical reasons. By the wall, a mysterious cauldron stood, its contents still bubbling.

Maddie dragged her finger the liquid and rubbed it in-between. That confirmed it. "Yep, this is the place. The mix is still fresh too."

Looking around, the ex-human shivered. "Sheesh, this place gives me the creeps. Who'd want to live in this dump?"

Suddenly, a new figure emerged from the door behind them. His voice was strangely jovial. "Doot do do! I love walking back into my secret lair with the entrance strangely opened!"

Sasha turned to see who it was and gasped angrily. "HUH?! YOU!" She shouted, pointing her slimy finger at him.

Barry Goodness, proprietor and owner of Barry's Berries and Sweets. The store would open every week at the farmer's market and due to his insane charisma, stocks ran out all the time. He was the market's biggest earner.

Barry shrieked upon seeing intruders. "Kids?! How did you find my secret lair?!"

"You left a clear trail of magic from the house. No good curse-wielder would ever make that mistake." Maddie said with an accusing tone. "Seeing hexes and cursed being used for malicious reasons? _You sicken me._"

"Yeah, dude! Why the heck did you turn me into a newt?! I didn't even know who you were until, like, yesterday!"

"It was exactly that day in which you wronged me, monster." He growled. "On that day, not only did you ruin my harvest of rare berries but you also stole them from under my tongue!"

Sprig gasped. "Sasha?! You promised you wouldn't steal again!"

"Okay, last time was an accident. Also, I never stole from you!"

"Yes, you did!" He shouted in anger. "The berries are in still in your pocket!"

Sasha rummaged through her dress pocket and to her surprise, there were, in fact, a couple of blue twinkling berries. She had honestly forgotten about them. "Oh, you're talking about these? Dude, I called you to picked them up again but you disappeared."

Barry's hips swayed to the side. "Yeah, well it didn't give you the right to take them. Just because they're failed produce to me, doesn't mean it's yours."

"Sasha, how could you?!" Sprig exclaimed, feeling betrayed.

"Hmph, I can't believe you'd do such a thing. For shame." Maddie added, disappointed.

Sasha choked. Her team was against her? "Ghk, I'm not the villain here! I didn't turn people into newts!" She then walked forward and handed over the berries. "Look, if you want them back, here! Just take this stupid curse off of me!"

Barry hummed. Scratching his chin, he thought about it. For such a simple decision, it was awkwardly longer than she expected. Sasha quickly grew impatient.

"Well?!" she asked.

"Hmm... Nope!"

Sasha gasped. "What?! Why?!"

"Those berries were priceless. The bushes only bloomed once every seven years! Since you took away my long-term investment, I'll take away your natural form and replace with something more socially acceptable!"

Her eye twitched. "... YOU COULD'VE JUST WASHED THEM!"

Sprig stepped in between them, pushing the two apart. Knowing Sasha, she'd definitely start a fistfight and he'd rather not have her punch one of his role models in the face.

"Let me try." He said at his BFF. Turning around, Sprig begged. "Please, Mr Barry! Being human is important to her and we'll pay for the loss. The Plantars have enough to spare."

Her eyes widened in shock. Sprig and in essence, the whole Plantar family was willing to give their hard-earned savings just for her? They went through a bunch of Sasha-related disasters for it. As selfish as she could be, even this was too much for her.

"Sprig, no..." Sasha pleaded.

Sprig showed her his palm, halting her. "No, Sasha. It's fine. Besides," he turned around to her. "we can always make more. Being poor never stopped us before."

That... was touching. She'd never been bailed out from her messes before. She got into trouble before but rarely was she ever caught. And even if she failed, it was always a team effort. Her plans, Anne's athletic skill and Marcy's smarts. Together, they could do anything.

Now, it's just her. If she had problems, it was on her to fix them.

Sasha smiled, feeling warm in her chest. "Thanks, Sprig."

Sprig nodded, shifting his attention back to Barry. He pulled out his right hand with a smile. "So, do we have a deal?"

This was a hand of good faith. With the incredible fortune the Plantars had amassed recently, it'd be crazy to reject it.

"Hoho, nope!" Barry answered, harshly slapping Sprig's hand away.

"WHAAAAAAAT?!" The boy gasped, completely flabbergasted.

"You think that just because I'm the _nicest frog in town_, I'm a forgiving person? HAH! You wish!" he said, laughing cruelly. "This niceness of mine is just a façade! When not in front of customers, I'm a very greedy and petty person."

Sasha angrily threw her hands. "We were going to _pay _you!"

"Unfortunately for you, I am more petty than I am greedy!" He tipped his tophat forward, shading his eyes like his black heart. "Guess you'll never be your disgusting monstrous self ever again. Serves you right! Hohohoho!"

Her whole face twitched.

Sasha took a deep breath, in and out. Her heartbeat slowed and within moments, she felt calm and at peace like a weight lifted off her shoulders.

"You know, I'm pretty sure there was a lesson I learned during all of this but really," she glared at the bastard of a frog, her eyes sharper than daggers. "it's been replaced by _sheer hecking anger!_"

"RAAAAAAAAH!"

"AAAHHHHHH!"

Screaming her lungs out, Sasha startled Barry and lunged at him like a wild animal. The two tumbled and rolled on the ground, shaking the whole warehouse. Sprig watched in horror as two of his life's role models wrestled each other.

Such violence.

Meanwhile, as the two fought, Maddie searched around some more, looking for any unused curses. So long as the curses were made by Barry, she could use them to undo Sasha's.

"Get off of me, you rapscallion!" Barry threatened. Like the frog he was, he then shut his mouth and pushed air out of his lungs, causing his throat to inflate instantly. The force easily pushed back Sasha, separating the two.

Barry patted the dust of off his clothes. "Ugh, assaulting an innocent frog in their own home? Nothing's too low for you, huh monster?"

"YOU TURNED ME INTO A NEWT!"

"Hmm, you're right." He then pulled out a small tied pouch from his inner pocket. "Maybe you'd prefer to be a bird."

He threw the pouch at Sasha, forcing her to jump back. The pouch exploded into a cloud of magical dust and she yelped in surprise. "Woah!"

Barry threw another. "Or maybe a mantis."

_Poof! _She tumbled backwards. "Hey!"

"Or better yet, a worm!"

_Poof! _Another pouch, Sasha retreated, only to realize her back was at the wall. "H-hey! Stop that!"

Looking next to him, he saw a basket and smiled maliciously — the unused curses that he prepackaged. He grabbed a handful and threw it onto Sasha's feet. With nowhere to run, Sasha raised one leg after another, a desperate attempt at avoiding another curse on her.

"Dance, girlie! Dance! Hohohoho!" He laughed, torturing the girl.

"YAAAAAHHH!" Out of nowhere, Sprig appeared from above and latched onto Barry's face, blindsiding him. "Leave Sasha alone!"

"Sprig, grab one of his curses! It's the little bags he was throwing!" Maddie shouted, unable to find any on her side.

Sprig was a slippery frog, both physically and figuratively. Barry tried to catch him but the boy was quick on his feet and crawled around, head to toe. But alas, there was only so much Barry he could climb and ultimately, the large frog successfully grabbed his leg.

"W-woah!" Sprig yelled, hanging upside down.

"Got'cha!" Barry declared before throwing Sprig across the room. The boy frog slid face-first on top of the floor, stopping right in front of Maddie.

Sprig ripped his face off the floor. With a bruised face and ugly smile, he showed Maddie a single curse sack and gave a painful thumbs up. "F-f'here ghu go."

Maddie took the curse and returned a thumbs up too. Pulling out a string and some leftover strands of Sasha's hair, she tied it onto the curse. It was crude but it'll do its job. "There, done!"

"Oh no, you don't!" Barry stomped forward, several bags of curses in his hands. "You think you can just barge into her and destroy my property? Well, you kids got another thing coming. Hohohoho!"

Maddie glared and reeled her arm back, the curse in hand. Barry stopped to gloat. "Hoho, you're going to use my modified curse on me? You'll need a straight hit for that to work."

"Oh, don't worry." A voice from behind said. Suddenly, two amphibious arms appeared and wrapped around his shoulders from underneath, pulling him off the ground. "She won't miss."

Barry turned his head around slightly and gasped. "T-THE HUMAN?!"

"The name's Sasha. Got it memorized?" she replied with a smirk. She then looked at Maddie and Sprig, and winked.

Maddie nodded and stepped forth. "As a representative of curse-wielders everywhere, Barry Goodness has been found guilty of using his powers in a cruel and unusual fashion. For that, he is sentenced..."

"TO BE CURSED!" Maddie shouted, lopping the modified straight at Barry and Sasha. The large frog screamed in fear, all while Sasha's smirk grew. Right on his chest, the curse exploded, engulfing the building with mystic smoke.

And then, there was silence.

Meanwhile, back at the Plantar farm, the front door of the house fell over, off its frame. Hop Pop frowned at the sight. "Darn hinges..."

* * *

For an adventure that began this morning, a lot of time had passed. Just as they got out of the forest, it was already the afternoon and even almost the evening. The valley had vast forests and swamps so even a simple trek can take a while.

"Well, here's the last one." Sprig said, placing a barrel on the Flour residence. It wasn't particularly heavy but it was still a long walk. "I kinda feel bad for taking Barry's whole stock."

"You didn't take anything. It's a fair exchange: the curse removed over everything he owned. This is now officially Flour property." Maddie explained, patting a barrel.

Sprig nodded in understanding before turning to his other friend. "What about you, Sasha? How do you feel?"

Putting two barrels down, Sasha began stretching her arms and legs. Her previously slimy skin and long snout were back to their original forms: boring dry skin and a bump of a nose. She twisted her waist, relieving some tension.

"Well, ghh, I just found out how cold you guys feel and my body feels a lot heavier. Honestly, being a newt wasn't so bad but I prefer to stay human, thank you very much." She replied, her body tilted to the side with an arm over her head. "Also, I'm pretty sure I learned something today but I kinda forgot what it was."

"Nice. I learned that appearances lie and that some psychopaths." Sprig cheered.

"Good for you, Sprig." Sasha praised. She was pretty sure that wasn't the lesson either but she'd let him have his moment.

Sprig then turned around to Maddie, who was checking the barrels. "Hey, Maddie? Thanks for the help. We couldn't have done this without you. You're... pretty cool!"

Maddie smiled, a small blush over her cheeks. "Eh, it's fine. Just a witch maintaining laws regarding magic, that's all."

"When we have time, I'll call you and we can hang out!" Sprig said.

Maddie simply shrugged. "Sounds cool. I'll see you around then." Slowly, the temperature dropped and the sky blackened. "_We'll have so much fun next time._"

Sprig blinked. "Okay!" he cheered, the atmosphere now back to normal.

With waves of goodbyes, the Plantar and the adopted human left the Flour's bakery and headed back home. Today was an eventful day and at last, they could finally sit back and rest. At least, until Hop Pop decided to give out chores and whatnot. But those are still better than having your species changed overnight.

Sasha glanced the younger frog below her and nudged him with her elbow. "Hey, Sprig?"

"Yeah, Sasha?"

"Thanks for what you did back there. _You_ were pretty cool."

Sprig blushed at the compliment. "Aww shucks! It's no problem. You're an honorary Plantar and we Plantars watch over each other."

"Sasha Waybright Plantar, huh?" she said out loud, only to chuckle. "Heh, I think I'll stick with just Sasha for now."

Still, hearing Sprig call her a Plantar made her feel warm. She quite liked the sound of that. She'd keep that in mind. Nonetheless, the rest of the walk home was peaceful. Just the sounds of crickets in the bushes and the breeze between the leaves.

Sprig smacked his lips.

"Yeah, she still scares me."

"Oh yeah, I totally get what you mean now!"


End file.
